DATE  DUE 

UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 

AT 

AMHERST 


SF 

239 

G983 


H.  B.  GURLER 


The  Farm  Dairy 


By 

H.  B.  GURLER 
DeKalb.  111. 

President  National  Dairy  Show  Association 


The  Breeder's  Gazette 
Chicago,  1908 


Copyrighted,  1908, 

By  The  Breeder's  Gazette 

(All  Rights  Reserved) 


PREFACE. 


The  author  dedfcates  this  little  book  to  the 
boys,  hoping  that  it  will  help  them  to  see  the 
opportunities  in  the  field  of  agriculture,  and 
especially  ,in  dairying,  the  most  profitable 
branch  of  agriculture  when  its  possibilities  are 
developed. 

The  young  man  who  fits  himself  by  education 
and  training  to  master  the  details  of  farm  work 
is  sure  to  succeed.  I  fully  believe  there  is  no 
field  open  to  the  young  man  that  offers  as  great 
opportunities  for  the  development  of  character, 
and  for  the -acquisition  of  good  health  and  a 
competency  as  does  agTiculture. 

We  have  just  commenced  to  open  our  eyes  to 
the  opportunities.  Keep  in  touch  with  the  agri- 
cultural colleges  and  experiment  stations  where 
experts  are  working  out  problems  in  their 
special  lines,  and  remember  that  the  educated 
practical  farmer  is  in  the  future  to  be  looked  up 
to  by  all  classes.  He  is  to  be  the  only  lord  in 
this  country. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Page 

Chapter  I —  The  Dairyman 7 

Chapter  II— The  Dairy  Farm 13 

Chapter  III— The  Dairy  Herd 18 

Chapter  IV — Abortion    33 

Chapter  V— Milk   Pever, 10 

Chapter  VI — Tuberculosis    12 

Chapter  VII— The  Cow  Stable 46 

Chapter  VIII— The  Concrete  Cow  Yard 59 

Chapter  IX— The  Palatability  of  Feed 62 

Chapter  X — T^^pical  Rations  for  Dairy  Cows.  ...   68 

Chapter  XI — Watering  Cows  in  Winter 81 

Chapter  XII— The  Feeding  Value  of  Skim-milk.   81 

Chapter  XIII— Building  the  Silo 92 

Chapter  XIV— Filling  the  Silo 102 

Chapter  XV — Using  the  Silage 108 

Chapter  XVI— Milking  by  Hand Ill 

Chapter  XVII— Milking  by  :Machinery 121 

Chapter  XVIII— Handfing  the  Milk 128 

Chapter  XIX — Ripening  and  Churning 135 

Chapter  XX — Salting  and  Finishing  the  Print.  .113 

Chapter  XXI — Marketing  Dairy  Butter 118 

Chapter  XXII — Utensils  for  the  Dairy 152 

Chapter  XXIII— Making   Certified   Milk.. 155 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  DAIRYMAN. 

The  successful  dairyman  must  be  a  gentleman 
(gentle  man).  If  lie  is  rough  and  brutal  with 
his  cows  he  cannot  secure  the  best  results  from 
them,  as  they  will  not  do  their  best  for  the  man 
who  is  unkind  to  them.  In  case  a  man  cannot 
control  his  temper  when  milking,  cannot  resist 
the  temptation  to  pound  the  cows  with  the  milk- 
ing stool,  he  should  liaA^e  a  milking  stool  made 
so  long  and  heavy  that  it  cannot  be  used  as  a 
club.  When  I  lived  on  my  farm  I  used  a  stool 
with  a  low  part  for  the  i>ail  to  rest  upon  and  an- 
other part  of  sufficient  height  for  the  seat.  This 
kept  the  pail  off  the  floor  and  clean  on  the  bot- 
tom, and  is  easier  and  better  than  holding  the 
pail  betw^een  the  knees  or  allowing  it  to  sit  on 
the  floor. 

It  would,  I  am  sure,  be  appreciated  by  the 
cows  if  we  should  secure  women  milkers,  as 
they  are  always  kind  to  the  cowsi.  I  never  saw 
a  woman  abuse  a  cow,  but  I  have  seen  men 
abuse  them  shamefully. 

Ill  Effect  of  Abuse. — I  suppose  abuse  affects 
the  cow  the  same  as  it  does  the  human  being. 

7 


3  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

There  are  very  few  of  us  who  turn  the  other 
cheek  when  one  is  smitten.  It  seems  to  be  a 
natural  law  or  instinct  to  pay' back,  to  get  even; 
and  the  cow  does  it  right  then  and  there  at  that 
milking.  No  animal  can  more  forcibly  demon- 
strate to  its  owner  the  poor  policy  of  abuse  than 
can  the  dairy  cow.  It  pays  to  be  familiar  with 
every  cow  in  the  herd  and  every  calf  that  is 
being  raised  to  become  a  cow.  When  I  go  to 
my  farm  and  into  the  pasture  or  yard  the  cows 
immediately  gather  about  me  and  seem  to  wish 
to  be  petted ;  and  when  I  go  into  the  calf  pasture 
the  calves  gather  about  me  and  I  have  to  be  on 
my  guard  to  prevent  being  butted  by  them. 
This  proves  to  me  that  they  have  been  kindly 
treated  by  those-  who  care  for  them.  It  is  a 
sure  indication  that  they  have  been  treated  as 
they  should  be  treated. 

Dairying  Everyday  Work. — ^The  dairymai:! 
must  be  a  persistent  worker.  A  spasmodical 
worker  will  not  make  a  successful  dairyman,  as 
dairying  is  every  day  work  and  twice  a  day,  and 
the  work  must  be  done  at  a  uniform  time  in  the 
day  to  secure  the  best  results.  The  cow  knows 
when  milking  time  comes  and  she  does  her  best 
at  that  time.  She  also  knows  just  as  well  when 
she  should  have  feed  and  water  and  any  neglect 
along  these  lines  may  easily  turn  the  balance , 
sheet  against  the  owner  at  the  end  of  the  year. 


THE  DAIRY  MAX.  9 

Study  Is  Necessary. — The  observing  dairy- 
man will  notice  any  shortage  of  milk  at  milking 
time  and  if  he  is  built  to  succeed  he  will  imme- 
diately commence  an  investigation  to  learn  the 
cause  of  the  shortage.  The  businesslike  dairy- 
man will  not  guess  at  the  cause  or  fail  to  try  to 
remove  it.  If  he  is  an  intelligent  man  he  will 
study  at  all  times  the  conditions  he  has  to  meet. 
He  will  wish  to  know  the  most  economical  ra- 
tion to  feed  his  cows.  He  will  be  figuring  out 
the  feeding  value  of  his  home-grown  foods  to 
know  whether  it  is  economy  to  feed  what  he 
has  grown  or  sell  a  part  of  it  and  buy  some  food 
that  when  added  to  his  home-grown  will  giv^ 
him  a  better  balanced  ration,  such  as  will  help 
him  to  produce  milk  at  the  lowest  cost.  He  will 
study  to  learn  whether  to  have  his  cows  freshen 
in  the  spring  or  in  the  fall  to  make  him  the  best 
profit.  He  will  try  to  infonn  himself  as  to  the 
most  131'ofitable  breed  for  his  purpose.  He  will 
consider  his  location  and  markets  and  will  wish 
to  visit  his  brother  dairyman  to  exchange  ideas 
and  experiences.  He  knows  that  life  is  too 
short  to  learn  very  much  from  one  ^s  own  ex- 
perience. He  will  subscribe  for  several  of  the 
best  dair\^  and  stock  papers,  knowing  that  he 
can  learn  many  times  the  cost  of  subscription 
ever\^  year  from  them.  This  kind  of  a  dairy- 
man will  learn  to  respect  his  business  and  him- 
self and  will  feel  there  is  an  opening  for  him  all 
along  the  whole  line  of  agriculture. 


10  THE  FARM  DAIRY, 

Increasing  Fertility. — He  will  uot  only  be 
studying  liow  to  feed  liis  cOws,  calves  and  pigs, 
but  lie  will  be  studying  how  to  feed  his  land. 
He  will  cease  to  be  a  soil  robber,  as  he  will 
realize  that  the  fanner  who  reduces  the  fertility 
of  his  land  is  a  robber  without  reason,  as  he 
is  robbing  himself.  He  will,  if  he  has  not  al- 
ready done  so,  get  himself  out  of  the  rut  which 
was  made  by  the  pioneers  and  has  been  worn 
deeper  every  succeeding  generation.  No  one 
will  hear  him  saying  that  his  farm  does  not 
need  fertilizing.  He  will  learn  that  by  continu- 
ous cropping  and  selling  corn  in  the  cornbelt 
of  Illinois  the  yield  is  decreasing  annually  one 
bushel  per  acre.  He  will  know  when  nothing  but 
butter-fat  or  butter  is  removed  from  the  farm 
there  is  practically  no  fertility  removed  and 
that  his  farm  with  a  sensible  system  of  rotations 
and  growing  legumes  will  increase  in  fertility 
from  year  to  year.  He  will  make  a  persistent 
and  continued  effort  tO'  grow  alfalfa,,  having 
learned  that  it  is  the  most  profitable  forage  crop 
we  have  when  we  take  into  account  its  feeding 
value  for  stock  and  its  marvelous  work  as  a  soil 
renewer. 

Improved  Milk  Supply. — The  dairyman  of 
the  future  is  sure  to  find  that  the  consumers  of 
milk  will  require  a  constant  improvement  in  the 
milk  supply  from  a   sanitary  standpoint.     The 


THE  DAIRYMAN.  H 

public  is  awake  to  the  fact  that  it  has  not  been 
securing  milk  as  clean  as  other  foods  and  it  will 
demand  that  it  gets  it,  and  the  dairyman  who 
is  ready  to  meet  this  demand  will  reap  his  re- 
ward. When  before  did  the  president  of  the 
United  States  interest  himself  in  the  milk  sup- 
ply of  his  city,  as  President  Roosevelt  has  re- 
cently done?  This  is  right  and  proper.  Milk 
and  its  products  are  sure  to  advance  in  price  to 
a  point  where  dairying  will  pay  better  than  any 
other  line  of  farming.  Tliis  must  be  so  or  the 
fanners  will  not  confine  themselves  to  this  busi- 
ness. 

Observant  Farmers. — The  farmers  who  will 
read  this  little  book  have  been  watching  the  de- 
velopment of  our  agricultural  colleges  and  of 
the  work  they  are  doing  to  interest  the  boys  in 
farming,  by  showing  them  the  opportunities  to 
use  trained  minds  and  hands  in  agricultural 
work,  showing  them  that  there  are  plenty  of  op- 
portunities to  discipline  the  mind  in  studying 
agricultural  problems  and  as  many  opportuni- 
ties to  make  a  profit  in  farming  as  in  other  pur- 
suits. 

Keep  Only  Paying  Cows. — A  dairyman  will 
not  spend  his  time  with  cows  which  do  not  make 
a  profit.  He  will  know  the  capacity  of  each  cow 
and  keep  none  which  is  not  profitable.  He  will 
realize  there  is  a  wonderful  opportunity  to  im- 
prove and  increase  the  profits  in  this  way.  When 


12  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

we  keep  a  cow  per  acre  (which  is  a  possibility) 
and  she  makes  400  lbs.  of  butter  worth  $100, 
and  $20  worth  of  skim-milk  at  a  feed  cost  of  $50 
and  a  labor  cost  of  $20,  we  have  a  net  income  of 
$50  which  is  five  per  cent  interest  on  $1,000.  It 
requires  a  great  effort  to  reach  this  mark  but 
when  one  is  year  by  year  approaching  this 
standard,  he  is  successful  and  happy,  and 
should  be  making  every  one  about  him  happy. 

Future  Profits  Certain. — The  dairyman  will 
see  tha,t  there  are  greater  opportunities  for  his 
boy  on  the  farm  than  elsewhere  and  will  educate 
the  son  to  fill  the  opening  that  is  here  already 
for  him.  Many  are  not  appreciating  the  chances 
for  farmers'  boys  on  the  farm.  Many  city  boys 
are  seeing  these  opportunities  before  the  farm- 
ers' boys  or  the  farmers  themselves  see  them. 

The  dairyman  will  learn  that  the  cow  pro- 
duces human  food  at  less  cost  than  any  other 
of  the  domestic  animals  and  she  will  be  doing 
business  when  our  lands  reach  a  price  that  will 
force  the  owners  to  quit  producing  beef,  mutton 
and  pork. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  DAIEY  FAEM. 

For  fifty  years  we  have  heard  talk  of  the 
dairy  belt  of  the  United  States.  This  sup- 
posed belt  has  been  increasing  from  year  to 
year  nntil  dairying  is  successfully  conducted 
in  a  greater  part  of  this  countr}\  It  has  at  least 
been  demonstrated  that  dairying  can  be  profit- 
ably conducted  in  most  states  of  the  Union  and 
in  most  states  where  it  does  not  flourish  it  is 
for  the  reason  that  the  farmers  can  get  a  good 
living  without  being  confined  to  dairying.  This 
does  not  prove  that  dairying  intelligently  con- 
ducted would  not  be  more  profitable  than  any 
other  line  of  stock  fanning.  In  parts  of  Europe 
the  cow  is  holding  possession  of  the  land  when 
the  price  has  reached  such  a  point  that  the  steer, 
the  sheep  and  the  pig  have  been  driven  from  the 
farm.  The  cow  is  the  cheapest  producer  of 
human  food  of  our  domestic  animals.  The 
other  animals  following  in  this  order:  the  pig, 
the  sheep  and  then  the  steer.  AYe  do  not  expect 
to  see  the  steer  crowded  off  the  earth,  but  we  do 
expect  to  see  the  dairy  cow  more  fully  recog- 

13 


14  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

nized  as  the  years  pass.  Tlie  rapid  advance  in 
price  of  lands  all  over  the  United  States;  the 
unprecedented  number  of  immigrants;  the 
awakening'  of  the  public  to  the  value  of  milk  as 
a  human  food  are  among  the  causes  that  are  at 
work  to  bring  more  fanners  to  think  about 
dairying. 

Dairying  Most  Profitable. — TLie  dairy  farm 
may  be  located  in  the  Northeast,  it  may  be  lo- 
cated in  the  cotton  section,  it  may  be  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  it  may  be  in  the  British  posses- 
sions or  it  may  be  in  the  cornbelt,  but  wherever 
it  is  when  properly  managed  it  is  paying  better 
than  any  other  line  of  farming  for  a  term  of 
years.  The  dairy  farmer  is  not  a  soil  robber  as 
is  the  farmer  who  sells  his  soil  fertility  by  the 
load  in  his  corn,  oats,  wheat,  hay  and  other 
bulky  products.  The  majority  of  farmers  are 
the  most  senseless  lot  of  robbers  on  the  face  of 
the  earth;  they  are  robbing  themselves  of  their 
soil  fertility  which  is  of  as  much  importance  as 
their  bank  account.  They  realize  that  they  can- 
not continue  checking  out  of  their  bank  with- 
out making  deposits,  but  they  act  as  though  they 
expected  to  continue  checking  against  their 
soil  fertility  for  all  time  without  returning  a 
fair  equivalent. 

Losing  Fertility. — Some  Illinois  lands  have 
grown  corn  for  forty  or  fifty  years  in  succes- 
sion and  some  lands   in  the  cotton  belt  have 


THE   DAIRY   FARM.  15 

grown  cotton  for  seventy  consecutive  years  and 
Jiave  never  been  fertilized.  If  the  cotton  grower 
would  return  the  cotton  seed  or  its  value  in 
soma  fertilizer,  he  would  not  be  a  bad  soil  rob- 
ber, as  the  lint  cotton  would  take  but  little  from 
the  soil  fertility.  Statistics  show  that  the  won- 
derful corn  lands  in  the  cornbelt  of  Illinois  are 
.showing  a  decreased  yield  from  year  to  year  of 
one  bushel  per  acre. 

Restoring  Fertility  With  Manure  ajid  Al- 
falfa.— The  dairy  fanner  who  sells  only  butter 
or  cream  is  taking  next  to  nothing  from  his  farm 
in  the  way  of  fertility,  if  he  saves  the  manure 
and  applies  it  to  his  land  and  practices  a  sensi- 
ble system  of  rotation,  growing  such  legumi- 
nous crops  as  will  grow  successfully  on  his 
farm.  Alfalfa  leads  the  list  in  the  legumes 
where  it  will  thrive  and  it  will  succeed  in  many 
sections  where  it  is  feared  that  it  will  not. 
Every  farmer  should  make  an  effort  to  grow  it; 
he  should  make  many  etforts,  if  it  is  necessary 
to  succeed.  It  is  doubtless  our  greatest  forage 
plant  on  soils  that  are  adapted  to  its  growth. 
It  is  our  gTcatest  soil  renewer.  We  can  grow 
greater  crops  after  it  than  after  any  other  for- 
age plant.  AVe  have  abundant  proof  of  this 
statement. 

The  author  has  clearly  demonstrated  the 
fact  that  a  womouf  grain  farm  can  be  brought 
up  to  a  state  of  fei'tility  and  of  profit  by  dairy- 


16  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

ing,  having  bought  forty  years  ago  a  prairie 
fann  in  Illinois  that  had  been  robbed  for  years 
by  growing  wheat  until  it  would  not  produce  a 
profitable  crop  of  anything.  The  dairy  cow 
has  brought  the  productive  capacity  of  this 
farm  from  a  yield  of  corn  of  30  to  35  bushels 
per  acre  to  where  we  now  secure  from  60  to  100 
bushels.  When  we  compare  the  profits  then  and 
now  the  difference  is  greater  than  the  compari- 
son of  yields,  as  there  was  no  profit  when  we 
produced  30  bushels  of  com.  I  discovered  that 
I  might  as  well  go  to  work  for  my  neighbor  by 
the  month  as  to  farm  on  lands  that  would  not 
produce  more  than  30  bushels  per  acre.  I  was 
forced  to  do  some  thinking  and  I  discovered 
that  the  most  prosperous  sections  of  the  United 
States  were  the  dairy  sections.  This  fact  de- 
cided me  to  take  up  daiiying  and  now  after 
forty  years  I  am  sure  I  made  a  wise  decision, 
that  I  could  not  have  made  a  better  one.  If  I 
could  have  had  alfalfa  to  aid  in  the  building  up 
of  the  farm  I  could' have  accomplished  the  work 
in  olie-third  of  the  time. 

Water  and  Drainage. — It  is  nice  to  have  a 
supply  of  spring  water  on  a  dairy  farm,  but  it 
is  not  necessary,  as  water  can  be  secured  from 
bored  wells  at  a  reasonable  depth  in  most  lo- 
calities and  with  windmill  or  the  gasoline  en- 
gine we  can  have  water  whenever  we  want  it. 
Stagnant  pools  or  muddy  streams  are  objection- 


THE   DAIRY   FARM.  17 

able  as  a  supply  of  water  for  a  dairy.  Tlie 
cows  should  be  fenced  away  from  such  water. 

The  farm  should  have  good  drainage,  either 
natural  or  artificial.  A  flat  or  wet  farm  may 
be  tiled,  taking  the  water  line  down  in  the  soil 
so  as  to  make  an  excellent  dairy  farm,  and  the 
low  tiled  lands  are  very  productive  and  are  the 
lands  that  are  selling  for  the  top  prices.  I  also 
think  it  best  to  have  shade  which  the  cows  can 
utilize  when  they  wish. 

The  Breed  Should  Fit  the  Farm.— I  think  the 
character  of  the  farm  should  be  taken  into 
account  when  selecting  the  breed  of  cows  to 
place  upon  it.  To  illustrate,  I  would  not  put  a 
large  breed  of  cows  on  a.  hilly  farm  where  much 
traveling  about  is  necessar\^  to  enable  the  an- 
imals to  secure  the  necessary  food,  but  would 
select  for  such  a  farm  one  of  the  smaller  and 
more  active  breeds. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE.  DAIRY  HEED. 

According  to  the  census  of  1900  the  total 
number  of  cows  in  the  United  States,  kept  for 
milk  production,  was  18,112,707,  and  the  total 
number  of  gallons  of  milk  produced  was  7,728,- 
583,350.  This  reduced  to  pounds  makes  the 
average  per  cow  of  3,672  lbs.  of  milk  per  year. 
To  get  at  the  work  these  cows  are  doing  as  but- 
ter producers,  we  will  suppose  this  milk  to 
average  four  per  cent  fat  (which  is  doubtless 
a  little  high),  and  we  have  each  cow  producing 
146  lbs.  of  butter-fat,  to  which  we  will  add 
fifteen  per  cent  to  estimate  the  butter,  and  we 
get  168  lbs.  of  butter  as  the  average  annual 
production  per  cow  in  the  United  States. 

Comparing  these  figures  with  the  census  re- 
port of  1890,  we  find  an  improvement,  as  at  that 
time  the  cows  were  estimated  as  producing  130 
lbs.  of  butter  per  annum.  It  is  encouraging  to 
feel  that  we  are  progressing  in  our  business,  yet 
where  can  we  get  any  satisfaction  out  of  the 
present    condition,    when    we    are    thirty-two 

18 


THE    DAIRY   HERD.  19 

pounds  of  butter  per  cow  short  of  what  is  nec- 
essary to  make  the  business  as  a  whole  profit- 
able? Tliere  is  no  doubt  that  the  average  cost 
of  keeping  and  caring  for  the  cows  of  the  coun- 
tr}^  will  require  an  average  production  of  2U() 
lbs.  of  butter  to  pay  for  feed,  labor  and  interest 
on  the  investment. 

Co&t  of  Keeping  a  Cow. — I  believe  that  the 
average  annual  cost  of  feeding  a  cow  in  the 
United  States  for  a  term  of  years  is  not  less 
than  $35,  and  where  the  milk  is  taken  to  a 
creamery  the  patron  will  not  receive  an  aver- 
age above  twenty-two  cents  per  pound  for  the 
butter,  and  when  the  cow  produces  168  lbs.  we 
have  $36.96  to  her  credit,  or  $1.96  above  cost 
of  feeding  her,  which  with  the  skim-milk  is  our 
pay  for  labor,  interest,  taxes  and  insurance.  It 
is  apparent  that  there  is  something  wrong  with 
the  dairymen  when  they  are  content  to  be  do- 
ing this  quality  of  work. 

If  it  costs  on  an  average  for  a  tenn  of  years 
$35  per  annum  to  feed  a.  cow  and  to  this  we 
add  $12.50  for  labor  and  $2.50  for  interest,  we 
have  $50  charged  up  against  each  cow  annually. 
Xow  what  shall  we  put  on  the  other  side  of  the 
account?  We  will  allow  $10  per  cow  for  the 
feeding  value  of  the  skim-milk,  which  would  be 
281/2  cents  per  100  lbs.  for  the  skim-milk  of  the 
average  cow,  and  we  still  have  $40  against 
the  cow,  wliich  must  be  met  by  the  butter  pro- 


20  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

diiced.  We  have  ascertained  that  this  aver- 
ages 168  lbs.,  and  it  must  sell  for  twenty-four 
cents  per  pound  to  bring  the  cow  and  her 
owner  out  even.  Few  of  us  can  secure  this 
average  price  for  our  butter. 

Some  may  think  that  I  have  charged  the  cow 
too  much  for  lahor,  but  I  think  not.  If  the 
dairyman  has  boys,  girls  or  a  wife  who  milks  it 
is  his  good  fortune,  but  that  is  no  reason  why 
the  labor  account  should  not  be  charged  against 
the  cow.  Other  dairymen  would  be  glad  to  pay 
for  such  work  if  you  do  not  have  to  pay  for 
yours. 

Profitable  Butter  Production. — A  cow  that 
makes  less  than  200  lbs.  of  butter  per  year 
should  not  be  kept  in  the  herd,  and  the  200-lJb. 
cow  should  only  be  retained  such  a  time  as  is 
necessary  to  secure  a  better  one.  No  one  will 
become  rich  milking  200-]b.  cows.  Where  is  the 
business  sense  in  keeping  such  cows  in  the  herd? 

We  would  not  keep  a  horse  year  after  year 
that  could  only  do  sufficient  work  to  pay  for 
its  keeping,  neither  would  we  keep  permanently 
a  hired  man  who  was  not  profitable,  yet  at  the 
same  time  many  farmers  keep  cows  that  get 
in  debt  to  them  every  year. 

Way  of  Valuing  a  Cow. — The  following 
statement  shows  the  comparative  value  of  cows 
that  produce  200  lbs.  of  butter  per  year  and 
those  making  250  lbs.,  300  lbs.,  350  lbs.",  and  400 


THE    DAIRY   HERD.  21 

lbs.  The  COW  that  will  make  only  200  lbs.  an- 
nually is  worth  what  she  will  sell  for  in  the  mar- 
ket, which  is  about  $30. 

The  250-lb.  cow  gives  us  50  lbs.  for  profit, 
which  we  will  say  is  worth  20  cents  per  lb.  or 
$10,  which  will  pay  10^/  interest  on  $100. 
Therefore  if  the  200-lb.  cow  is  worth  $30,  the 
250-lb.  cow  is  worth  $130.  In  other  words  you 
can  as  well  a,fford  to  pay  $130  for  a  cow  that 
will  make  250  lbs.  of  butter  yearly  as  to  pay 
$30  for  a  cow  that  will  only-  produce  butter- 
fat  to  make  200  lbs.  of  butter.  No  one  would 
think  of  paying  $130  for  the  250-lb.  cow,  but 
she  is  just  as  good  an  investment  as  the  200-lb. 
cow  is  when  both  are  to  be  kept  for  a  term  of 
years  on  the  farm.  If  any  improvement  is  made 
on  the  200-lb.  cow  by  raising  her  calves,  the 
credit  must  be  given  the  dairy  sire  to  which 
she  is  bred.  By  the  use  of  a  proper  sire  the 
heifer  calves  from  the  250-lb.  cow  may  also 
be  improved  over  their  dam. 

On  the  above  basis  the  300-lb.  cow  would 
give  100  lbs.  of  butter  for  profit  which  would 
be  worth  $20,  or  10^  interest  on  $200.  There- 
fore the  300-lb.  cow  is  as  good  an  investment  at 
$230  as  the  200-lb.  cow  is  at  $30.  And  when 
we  have  a  350-lb.  cow,  as  we  frequently  do,  we 
have  another  $10  of  profit  which  means  that  the 
cow  is  worth  another  $100,  and  the  400-lb.  cow 
gives  us  still  another  $10  of  profit  to  figure  as 


22  THE  FARM  DAIRY, 

interest  on  another  $100,  wliicli  makes  her 
worth  $430,  and  each  additional  fifty  pound?' 
of  butter  that  a  cow  will  produce  annually 
makes  her  worth  another  $100,  as  an  invest- 
ment. 

This  rule  would  not  hold  good  if  a  dairyman 
buys  his  cows  for  one  milking  period  and  then 
sells  them  for  beef;  but  I  believe  it  is  fair  and 
true  when  a  dair^anan  selects  a  bull  from  some 
dairy  herd  and  raises  the  heifer  calves  from  his 
cows  to  keep  up  his  dairy. 

Investment  Good  in  Big  Producing  Cows. — I 
believe  it  is  unfair  to  the  cow  to'  require  her  to 
pay  10^  interest,  as  she  will,  if  bred  intelligent- 
ly, reproduce  herself  in  her  heifer  calf  so  as  to 
perpetuate  the  family.  In  fact,  she  will  as  a 
rule  leave  you  more  than  one  offspring  that  will 
be  her  equal  as  a  butter  i^roducer,  which  makes 
you  practically  safe  in  calculating  on  keeping 
your  investment  good  that  you  have  in  the  300- 
ib.,  350-lb.  and  400-lb.  cows. 

Dairies  Running  Owners  in  Debt. — What  I 
have  said  in  regard  to  individual  cows  will  ap- 
])ly  with  equal  force  to  dairies,  as  there  are 
thousands  of  dairies  in  the  United  States  which 
are,  when  considered  on  a  business  basis,  put- 
ting their  owners  in  debt  every  year.  I  can- 
not understand  why  dairymen  will  persist  in 
working  with  unprofitable  cows  when  it  is  en- 
tirely practical  for  tliem  to  have  dairies  that 


THE    DAIRY   HERD,  23 

will  make  them  $30  or  $40  per  cow  annually 
after  paying  for  all  their  feed  at  market  price 
and  $12  to  $15  for  the  labor  of  caring  for  them. 

Improving  the  Herd. — I  do  not  advise  all 
daiiymen  to  secure  registered  herds  of  any 
breed.  This  is  all  right  when  one  can  see  his 
way  clear  to  do  so.  What  every  dairpnan  can 
do  to  improve  his  herd  is  to  test  his  individual 
cows  and  dispose  of  those  that  do  not  come  up 
to  a  profitable  standard.  This  standard  will 
vary  in  different  localities,  depending  upon  the 
cost  of  feed,  labor  and  the  value  of  the  products. 

I  shall  not  undertake  to  tell  you  what  breed 
to  select  for  dairy  purposjes,  but  I  would  advise 
selecting  some  one  of  the  dairy  breeds.  Study 
the  subject  thoroughly  and  then  select  the  breed 
that  you  think  is  best  suited  to  your  wants. 

In  case  you  have  no  cows  and  are  intending  to 
buy,  get  the  privilege  of  testing  them  before 
buying.  See  them  milked,  weigh  the  milk,  take 
a  sample  and  test  it  or  have  it  tested,  and  you 
can  figure  out  what  the  cow  is  doing  in  the  line 
of  producing  butter-fat,  to  which  you  may  add 
fifteen  per  cent  to  learn  how  much  butter  she 
will  produce.  This  work  will  require  a  little 
time,  but  will  pay  in  the  end.  If  you  have  a 
dairy,  test  every  cow  to  know  what  she  is  doing. 
Do  not  go  guessing  along  with  this  work. 

Eaise  all  the  heifer  calves  fi^om  the  cows  that 
test  well  enough  to  be  retained  in  the  herd  and 


24  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

have  been  bred  to  the  right  bull.  These  heifers 
will  do  more  profitable  work  for  you  their  first 
season  when  only  two  years  old  than  will  the 
average  cows  that  you  will  be  able  to  buy.  This 
is  my  experience.  I  have  a  demonstration  of  the 
truth  every  year  and  I  now  have  seventy-five 
such  heifers  on  my  farm,  some  of  which  will 
drop  their  calves  soon  and  some  of  them  are  not 
yet  weaned.  It  is  becoming  more  difficult  every 
year  to  buy  good  cows.  When  we  grow  our 
heifer  calves  for  a  few  generations,  we  have  h 
longer  line  of  heredity  to  aid  us  in  selecting  the 
calves  which  w^e  will  raise  and  will  learn  to 
look  back  along  the  line  to  the  butter  and  milk 
record  of  their  ancestors. 

Study  the  Cows. — AVe  should  know  the  good 
and  bad  qualities  of  our  individual  cows  just 
as  well  as  we  know  those  of  the  men  we  employ. 
It  is  of  just  as  much  importance  and  is  much 
easier  to  control,  as  we  can  do  as  we  please  with 
our  cows,  but  I  find  there  are  times  when  I 
cannot  do  as  I  would  like  to  do  with  some  of  the 
men  in  my  employ.  We  do  not  keep  a  man  per- 
manently when  we  know  where  we  can  secure  a 
better  one,  and  yet  we  go  sliding  along  with  a 
large  percentage  of  our  herds  unprofitable.  Why 
do  we  do  this?  Wliy  can  we  not  appreciate 
our  business  and  apply  business  sense  -to  our 
work?  Why  not  get  ourselves  up  to  the  busi- 
ness standards  of  our  merchants  and  manufac- 


THE    DAIRY   HERD.  25 

turers?  They  are  studying  all  the  time  how  to 
lessen  the  cost  of  doing  business  and  they  are 
succeeding.  There  is  as  much  room  to  apply 
intelligent  thought  to  dairying  as  to  any  busi- 
ness in  our  country.  In  one  sense  we  are  doing 
a  higher  grade  of  work  than  any  mechanical 
manufacturer,  for  we  are  dealing  with  machines 
that  have  life  like  ourselves — machines  that  ap- 
preciate kind  treatment  and  respond  to  it  al- 
ways with  an  increased  profit  to  the  owner.  I 
wish  I  could  make  the  dairyman  see  the  subject 
as  I  see  it — see  the  opportunities  that  might  and 
should  be  improved. 

Begin  Study  at  Home. — AVe  need  to  com- 
mence at  home  to  study  the  cause  of  such  a  con- 
dition. Do  not  go  to  the  farther  end  of  the  line 
and  kick  everyone  except  yourself  because  you 
are  not  making  a  profit  in  your  business  of 
dairying,  but  commence  with  yourself.  The 
probabilities  are  that  you  are  the  weakest  link 
in  the  chain.  Comparatively  few  of  us  have 
the  moral  courage  to  admit  that  we  are  in  the 
wrong  when  we  know  it  to  be  true.  It  is  nec- 
essary that  we  should  reach  this  condition  be- 
fore we  shall  develop  as  we  should.  There  are 
in  most  communities  dairy  herds  that  produce 
l>er  cow  from  300  to  400  lbs.  of  butter  an- 
nually. These  herds  should  be  object  lessons, 
as  what  one  dairyman  has  done  another  can  do. 
AVe  should  not  take  figures  of  another  when 


26  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

estimating  tlie  cost  of  feeding  our  cows,  but 
should  learn  from  our  own  work  what  it  costs. 
This  is  not  a  difficult  matter;  the  most  difficult 
part  is  to  bring  ourselves  to  realize  that  it  will 
pay  us  to  do  it. 

Trying  to  Do  too  Much. — The  most  of  us  are 
trying  to  do  too  much,  just  a  little  more  than  is 
profitable,  more  than  we  can  do  as  it  should  be 
done.  I  do  not  know  when  we  acquire  this  habit, 
but  we  have  it  and  knowing  the  fact  we  should 
try  to  break  ourselves  of  it,  as  it  is  as  unprofit- 
able as  to  grow  w^eeds  in  our  cornfields.  It  is 
worse,  as  the  weeds  in  the  cornfields  may  not 
damage  more  than  one  year  while  the  faults  in 
the  management  of  our  farms  will  remain  for  all 
time  if  we  do  not  eradicate  them.  Success  de- 
pends upon  their  being  eradicated  and  it  is  as 
necessary  as  to  remove  the  weeds  from  our  corn- 
fields, if  we  are  to  produce  100  bushels  of  corn 
to  the  acre.  That  yield  of  corn  to  the  acre  is  to 
be  much  more  common  in  the  future  than  it 
has  been  in  the  past.  The  breeders  of  corn  are 
sure  to  put  the  breeders  of  cows  to  shame  in  the 
near  future  if  they  do  not  get  wide-awake  soon. 

Test  the  Cows. — Many  dairymen  have  so 
much  to  look  after  that  they  do  not  (or  think 
they  do  not)  have  time  to  look  after  the  testing; 
of  their  cows.  In  such  cases  get  the  boys,  the 
girls  or  the  wife  to  look  after  it,  and  I  will 
guarantee  that  after  it  is  followed  a  year  you 


THE   DAIRY   HERD.  27 

will  become  interested  in  it,  as  you  will  see  that 
it  pays  better  than  any  other  work  that  has 
beenvdone  on  the  farm.  The  whole  family  will 
become  interested  in  it  and  it  will  help  them  to 
see  the  business  side  of  farm  work.  This  work 
will  cause  you  to  think  better  of  your  business 
and  will  cause  the  boys  to  think  better  of  the 
farm  and  some  of  them  will  1)egin  to  see  the 
matter  as  an  attorney  did  who  visited  my  farm 
in  the  summer  of  1901.  This  gentleman  had  a 
son  whom  he  had  educated  for  the  bar,  but  the 
young  man  did  not  like  that  profession  and  was 
determined  to  go  on  a  farm  which  his  father 
owned.  He  took  a  course  in  an  agricultural  col- 
lege to  fit  him  for  farming.  His  father  came  to 
my  farm  to  obtain  ideas  on  barn  building  and 
the  last  remark  he  made  as  he  drove  out  of  my 
yard  was  that  there  were  greater  opportunities 
on  the  farm  than  in  any  other  profession.  Think 
of  this,  boys,  and  remember  that  it  was  a  pro- 
fessional man  who  was  talking. 

Importance  of  a  Good  Bull. — The  old  saying 
that  the  bull  is  half  the  herd  does  not  express 
half  the  truth  when  he  is  selected  and  handled 
intelligently.  The  heifer  calves  are  most  like- 
ly to  be  like  their  sires  and  the  bull  calves  like 
their  dams.  The  record  of  a  cow's  grandam 
on  the  sire's  side  has  the  same  interest  to  me  as 
her  own  dam's  record.  This  is  especially  true 
when  we  have  a  herd  of  ^rade  cows.     Do  not 


28  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

allow  a  few  dollars  to  get  in  the  way  of  your 
securing  a  bull  that  has  the  individuality  you 
want  and  also  has  the  right  heredity.  Do  not 
put  the  bull  in  service  before  he  is  one  and  a 
half  years  old  and  let  the  service  be  light  until 
he  is  well  matured,  as  it  is  necessary"  to  main- 
tain his  sexual  vigor.  This  is  more  necessary 
when  breeding  for  a  dairy  herd  than  when 
breeding  for  beef. 

Use  a  Masculine  Bull. — The  bull  must  have 
plenty  of  exercise  if  he  is  to  continue  in' con- 
dition to  do  his  best  work  and  he  must  be  prop- 
erly fed.  Do  not  feed  him  carbonaceous  food, 
but  feed  protein  foods  such  as  oats,  wheat  bran, 
the  gluten  foods,  alfalfa,  clover  and  pasture 
grass.  It  is  established  now  beyond  dispute 
that  an  animal  can  be  fed  to  produce  strong 
bone  and  good  muscle  and  that  is  what  we  wish 
to  do  with  the  bull.  We  want  him  to  be  vigor- 
ous, not  pretty.  Let  him  have  masculine 
beauty.  A  feminine  bull  should  be  driven  out  of 
the  herd  by  the  cows  if  the  owner  has  not  sense 
enough  to  take  him  out.  A  strong  vigorous 
masculine  bull  will  get  a  larger  percentage  of 
heifer  calves  than  will  a  feminine  bull  and  they 
are  more  likely  to  inherit  the  dairy  qualities 
of  the  bull's  dam.  This  may  be  called  theory, 
but  it  is  based  upon  thirty  years  of  study  and 
experience.  When  we  have  learned  the  ability 
of  each  cow  in  the  herd  and  have  intelligently 


THE    DAIRY   HERD.  29 

selected  a  bull,  we  are  iu  position  to  raise  some 
lieifer  calves  that  will  do  us  good. 

Raising^  the  Heifer. — I  practice  breeding  my 
heifers  so  as  to  have  them  drop  the  first  calf  at 
two  years  of  age.  I  am  confident  that  they 
make  better  cows  to  come  in  milk  at  two  years 
of  age  than  at  a  later  period.  They  should  be 
handled  from  the  time  they  are  calves  so  they 
will  have  no'  fear  of  the  person  who  handles 
them.  There  is  need  of  great  care  at  this 
period  and  much  patience  is  also  needed  to  over- 
come their  fear  and  teach  them  that  they  are 
not  to  be  harmed  and  to  cause  them  to  be  quiet 
while  being  milked.  Care  must  be  exercised 
during  the  first  milking  period  to  establish  and 
fi:s.  the  habit  of  milking  as  long  as  it  is  desirable 
to  have  them  milked.  If  they  are  allowed  to  go 
dn^  too  early  in  their  first  period  of  milking, 
they  are  more  likely  to  do  the  same  the  suc- 
ceeding year,  and  the  habit  is  soon  established. 
They  should  be  milked  to  within  two  months 
of  the  time  of  dropping  the  second  calf.  This 
is 'the  kind  of  work  that  has  made  it  possible 
to  secure  the  large  yields  of  butter  that  we  now 
so  frequently  obtain. 

Drying  Off  the  Cows. — Do  not  force  a  cow 
dry.  If  she  persists  in  milking  the  whole  time 
let  her  have  her  way  about  it,  as  there  is  danger 
of  doing  damage  to  the  udder  of  a  persistent 
milking  cow  in  drying  her  off.  I  have  had  many 
damasred  udders  from  this  cause. 


30  THE' FARM  DAIRY. 

The  best  way  to  dispose  of  cows  that  are  be- 
low standard  is  to  feed  heavy  and  to  milk  at  the 
same  time.  After  three  or  four  months  most 
cows  will  improve  in  condition  and  may  be  fat- 
tened while  being  milked  and  sold  for  beef  soon 
after  becoming  dry.  Fattening  dry  cows  is  un- 
profitable work  and  I  have  never  been  able  to  do 
it  without  a  loss.  I  advise  to  fatten  while  milk- 
ing always  and  sell  as  soon  as  possible  after 
the  cow  is  dry,  as  a  dry  cow  cannot  be  fed  at  a 
profit. 

Best  Season  for  Fresh  Cows.— -There  are  rea- 
sons why  it  is  best  to  have  cows  fresh  in  the 
fall.  The  first  of  these  reasons  is  that  more 
milk  will  be  produced  during  the  year  or  the 
milking  period.  When  cows  are  fresh  in  the  ' 
fall  they  produce  the  greatest  flow  of  milk  when 
it  is  worth  the  most.  This  is  one  point  in  favor 
of  winter  dairying.  Another  reason  is  that  it 
helps  to  equalize  the  work  of  the  farm,  giving 
more  work  in  the  winter  and  less  in  the  summer 
when  the  farm  work  is  crowding.  I  have  often 
found  it  a  great  relief  not  to  have  the  cows  to 
milk  in  time  of  harvesting  and  threshing. 

Some  dairymen  will  get  home  from  town  ear- 
lier when  there  is  milking  to  do  and  it  may  be 
best  that  they  do.  If  the  pleasures  of  home  will 
not  bring  them  it  is  well  for  them  to  have  busi- 
ness that  will. 

The  third  point  in  favor  of  .winter  dairying  is 


THE   DAIRY   HERD.  31 

that  a  fall  calf  is  superior  to  a  spring  calf.  It 
can  be  kept  growing  through  the  winter,  and 
when  the  gra^s  comes  in  the  spring  it  can  be 
weaned,  if  there  is  not  milk  to  feed  it  longer. 
There  usually  is  unless  the  skim-milk  is  wanted 
for  young  pigs.  The  winter  calf  will  as  a  rule 
get  better  care  than  a  spring  calf;  it  will  not 
have  the  flies  to  contend  with  until  it  is  several 
months  old  and  strong  enough  to  withstand  the 
annoyance  better  than  the  youngster  can.  As  a 
inile  the  fall  calf  will  be  the  larger  and  worth 
more  money  when  it  is  a  year  old  than  a,  spring 
calf. 

With  a  warm,  light,  well  ventilated  stable  and 
plenty  of  the  right  food,  the  cow  will  keep  up  a 
good  flow  of  milk  until  she  is  put  to  pasture  and 
then  she  will  increase  in  her  flow  of  milk  to 
nearly  the  amount  she  gave  when  fresh.  There 
is  an  old  saying  that  a  cow  fresh  in  the  fall  is 
fresh  twice  in  the  season,  and  it  is  so  nearly 
true  that  I  am  reminded  of  it  every  year.  Under 
these  conditions  the  cow  will  milk  as  near  to  the 
time  of  parturition  as  she  ought  and  in  many 
cases  the  persistent  milkers  cannot  be  dried  off 
without  great  care  to  prevent  their  udders  be- 
ing damaged  so  much  that  when  they  calve  we 
find  one  quarter  or  more  that  will  not  furnish 
milk. 

Withdrawing  Grain  on  Grass. — As  soon  as 
the  cows  get  full  pasture  I  cease  to  give  them 


32  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

any  ground  feed  for  about  six  weeks.  Tlie  ob- 
ject is  to  renovate  them,  to  get  tbe  grain  food 
all  out  of  their  system.  This  method  does  not 
add  to  the  profit  of  that  season,  but  it  prolongs 
the  usefulness  of  the  cow  and  brings  a  larger 
profit  for  a  term  of  years  than  the  plan  of  feed- 
ing grain  the  whole  milking  period. 

Dehorning  Calves. — I  practice  dehorning  my 
calves  when  they  are  quite  young  by  blistering 
the  little  buttons  before  they  adhere  to  the  skull. 
This  is  very  simple  and  not  painful.  First  clip 
the  hair  about  the  horns  and  wet  the  little  loose 
button  and  apply  caustic  potash  in  stick  form 
by  rubbing  it  on  the  damp  horn.  Eemember 
this  must  be  done  before  the  horn  or  button  ad- 
heres to  the  skull. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


ABOETION. 

This  is  an  old  trouble  that  dairymen  have 
had  to  contend  with.  Nearly  forty  years  ago  the 
New  York  Legislature  appropriated  $10,000  to 
be  spent  in  trying  to  discover  the  cause  of  this 
trouble.  A  commission  was  appointed  and 
after  the  members  had  completed  their  investi- 
gation they  said  they  did  not  know  as  much 
about  the  cause  of  abortion  as  they  thought 
they  did  when  they  commenced  the  investiga- 
tion. We  were  many  years  in  the  dark  as  to 
the  cause  of  abortion,  and  I  remember  well  my 
surprise  when  infonned  that  there  was  a  con- 
tagious form  of  the  disease. 

Contagious  Abortion. — I  have  had  some  ex- 
perience with  contagious  abortion  and  it  was 
very  expensive  indeed.  The  first  season  that  it 
appeared  in  my  dairy  I  had  sixty  cows  and 
thirty-five  of  them  aborted.  This  was  many 
years  ago  and  as  I  did  not  know  there  was  such 
a  disease  I  did  not  know  what  to  do,  and  could 
not  find  any  one  who  did  know,  and  conse- 
quently I  did  nothing.     This  trouble  followed 

33 


34  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

my  herd  three  seasons  and  caused  me  to  dis- 
pose of  nearly  all  my  cows  that  had  aborted,  as 
they  failed  to  breed,  became  fat  and  dried  np 
oil  their  milk. 

Combating  an  Outbreak. — Several  years  later 
it  broke  out  again  when  I  had  learned  some- 
thing about  the  disease,  and  I  isolated  every 
cow  as  soon  as  possible  after  she  had  aborted 
and  treated  her  to  vaginal  injection  of  bichlor- 
ide of  mercury,  one  part  to  four  thousand  of 
water,  using  one  gallon  as  a  treatment  three 
times  per  week,  using  the  same  lotion  to  wash 
the  vulva,  tail  and  any  parts  necessary.  A  2fo 
solution  of  carbolic  acid  may  be  used  for  this 
purpose.  A  fountain  syringe  may  be  impro- 
vised for  this  work,  using  a  common  tin  pail 
and  a  nipple  to  which  a  piece  of  hose  can  be 
attached  and  the  pail  suspended  at  a  height 
sufficient  to  cause  the  liquid  to  flow  freely.  The 
foetus  and  afterbirth  must  be  buried  or  cre- 
mated as  soon  as  possible  to  prevent  the  spread 
of  the  contagion. 

In  cases  of  contagious  abortion -there  are 
usually  the  signs  of  normal  parturition,  enlarge- 
ment of  the  udder  and  vulva,  but  in  some  cases 
we  do  not  discover  these  sjanptoms. 

Now  we  do  not  wait  to  investigate  as  to 
whether  we  have  the  contagious  or  some  other 
form  when  a  cow  aborts,  but  isolate  her  imme- 
diately and  commence  to  treat  her,  keeping  her 


ABORTION.  35 

isolated  for  three  weeks  or  longer  if  it  is  neces- 
saryy  certainly  until  she  is  thoroughly  cleansed 
of  the  disease.  I  have  for  many  years  pre- 
vented any  serious  loss  in  this  way. 

This  trouble  must  be  grappled  with  vigor  or 
it  will  spread  through  the  dair}^  Do  not  try  to 
make  yom-self  believe  it  is  not  the  contagious 
form  but  treat  it  as  though  you  knew  it  was,  as 
this  is  the  only  safe  method. 

Abortion  from  Ergot. — Ergot  will  cause  abor- 
tion. I  once  had  several  cases  caused  by  ergot 
of  rye  that  was  cut  with  clover'  hay  from  a  field 
that  had  rye  the  previous  year  and  the  clover 
had  some  of  the  volunteer  crop  of  rye,  which  I 
found  on  examination  to  be  quite  badly  ergot- 
ized.  I  have  had  it  caused  by  ergotized  pasture 
grass  on  land  that  had  been  overflowed  during 
the  summer. 

Prevention  and  Treatment. — The  following  is 
copied  from  The  Monthly  Bulletin,  Vol.  HI,  No. 
12,  of  the  Missouri  State  Board  of  Agriculture: 

''Take  every  precaution  to  prevent  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  disease  into  the  herd.  It  is  prudent  not 
to  introduce  a  recently  purchased  pregnant  female 
into  the  herd  until  her  calf  is  dropped  normally,  un- 
less you  know  that  the  herd  from  which  the  purchase 
is  made  is  free  from  the  disease.  Separate  quarters 
should  be  provided  for  these  animals.  Non-pregnant 
cows  purchased  at  public  sales,  unless  they  are  heif- 
ers that  have  never  been  bred,  are  probably  a  greater 


36  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

source  of  danger.  It  is  not  of  infrequent  occurrence 
that,  a  cow  that  proved  to  be  a  non-breeder  passes 
through  a  sale.  Such  an  animal  may  in  fact  be  an 
aborter  without  the  least  intent  on  the  part  of  the 
seller  to  deceive.  The  non-breeder  is  of  course  re- 
turnable to  the  original  owner,  by  the  rules  of  the 
sale ;  but  the  return  may  occur  only  after  the  cow  has 
been  repeatedly  served  by  your  best  herd  bull,  and 
the  infection  transferred  to  a  number  of  other  cows. 
Look  with  suspicion  on  the  non-breeder.  Care  should 
also  be  exercised  in  the  purchase  of  bulls  that  have 
been  in  service.  Before  permitting  service  in  your 
herd,  a  thorough  irrigation  of  the  sheath  with  a  mild 
antiseptic  solution  is  recommended. 

"If  an  abortion  occurs,  the  foetus  and  afterbirth 
should  be  carried  away  and  burned  or  buried.  The 
aborting  animal  should  be  removed  from  the  herd. 
If  occurring  in  the  barn,  the  bedding  should  be  re- 
moved and  burned.  The  floor,  walls  and  stall  parti- 
tions should  be  thoroughly  disinfected  with  a  five  per 
cent  solution  of  carbolic  acid  or  creolin.  This  may 
be  followed  by  a  coat  of  whitewash. 

' '  The  uterus  of  the  animal  that  has  aborted  should 
be  washed  out  with  two  gallons  or  more  of  a  non- 
irritant  antiseptic  solution.  Nocard  recommends  a 
two  per  cent  creolin  solution.  A  somewhat  weaker 
solution  made  by  adding  two  ounces  of  creolin  to 
each  gallon  of  water  will  answer  the  purpose.  The 
solution  should  be  lukewarm  when  injected.  It  may 
be  siphoned  into  the  uterus  by  means  of  a  rubber 
tube  three  feet  or  more  in  length.  The  tube  should 
be   passed  through   the   mouth   of   the   womb,    not 


ABORTION.  37 

merely  into  the  vagina.  Repeat  the  washing  in  a 
day  or  two  and  thereafter  once  or  twice  a  week 
until  the  discharges  disappear.  Before  irrigating 
the  womb,  wash  the  tail,  vulva  and  soiled  parts  of 
the  legs  with  a  solution  of  twice  the  strength  given 
above. 

''The  discharge  of  the  portions  of  retained  after- 
birth is  said  to  be  hastened  by  the  introduction 
into  the  womb  of  a  few  handfuls  of  brown  sugar. 
This  probably  forms  a  syrupy  coating  which  is  help- 
ful in  allaying  irritation.  In  the  use  of  sugar  for  this 
purpose  it  is  my  practice  to  mix  with  it  about  one- 
eighth  the  quantity  of  powdered  boracic  acid.  This 
makes  a  mildly  antiseptic  mixture  which  is  retained 
for  some  time.  Give  time  for  the  expulsion  of  the 
antiseptic  solution  that  was  injected  before  introduc- 
ing the  sugar  and  boracic  acid  powder.  The  floor 
and  bedding  where  the  animal  is  kept  should  be 
properly  disinfected  daily. 

"In  addition  to  the  treatment  given  above,  the  af- 
fected animal  should  receive  hypodermic  injections 
of  a  two  per  cent  solution  of  carbolic  acid  in  doses 
of  25  to  50  cubic  centimeters  as  often  as  every  two 
weeks.  In  1888  Brauer  reported  in  a  German  publi- 
cation excellent  results  from  this  treatment,  and  I 
am  glad  to  say  that  in  the  hands  of  some  of  our  Mis- 
souri breeders  it  has  given  satisfaction.  The  or- 
dinary syringe  used  in  vaccinating  against  blackleg 
will  answer  the  purpose,  although  a  syringe  holding 
25  cubic  centimeters  would  be  more  convenient.  The 
blackleg  syringe  holds  only  five  cubic  centimeters 
and  requires  to  be  filled  several  times.  The  needle 
may  be  left  in  the  skin  until  the  proper  amount  is 


38  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

injected,  the  syringe  being  refilled  apart  from  the 
needle.  Brauer  recommends  that  the  injections  be 
made  under  the  skin  on  the  flank,  ten  cubic  centime- 
ters on  each  side.  It  is  my  practice  to  inject  in  front 
of  the  shoulder,  just  as  is  done  in  blackleg  vaccina- 
tion, injecting  half  the  quantity  on  each  side.  The 
larger  dose  mentioned  does  not  appear  to  produce 
any  bad  effects.  In  some  cases  a  hardened  nodule 
may  form  at  the  point  of  inoculation  and  remain  for 
a  few  weeks,  but  no  disturbance  to  the  general 
health  of  the  animal  is  observed. 

**The  animal  should  not  be  bred  short  of  ninety 
days  and  not  then  if  any  discharge  is  present. 

''It  is  well  to  continue  the  hypodermic  injections 
until  assured  that  the  animal  is  pregnant.  They  may 
then  be  omitted  until  about  eight- weeks  before  the 
period  at  which  the  last  abortion  occurred.  The 
hypodermic  injections  should  then  be  given  every 
two  weeks  until  near  the  full  term. 

''In  cows  that  show  well  marked  symptoms  of 
abortion,  as  swelling  of  udder  and  vulva  before  the 
proper  time,  prompt  treatment  by  the  hypodermic 
method  with  the  larger  doses,  and  the  repetition  of 
the  injection  within  a  week  cause  a  disappearance 
of  the  symptoms.  The  udder  and  vulva  return  to 
their  normal  condition  and  the  use  of  smaller  doses 
from  time  to  time  will  enable  the  female  to  carry 
the  young  to  a  safe  delivery  at  full  term. 

"I  am  permitted  to  quote  a  few  interesting  lines 
from  the  letter  of  a  Missouri  breeder.  He  says:  'I 
have  had  the  best  of  success  with  the  carbolic  acid 
treatment  when  used  hypodermically.     My  results 


ABORTION.  39 

were  not  flattering  when  I  followed  the  old  method 
of  feeding  it.  I  have  not  had  a  cow  to  lose  a  calf  this 
year.  I  have  had  some  to  show  signs,  but  have 
stopped  it  with  the  liypodermic  injections.  I  will 
mention  one  case.  This  was  a  cow  that  had  pre- 
viously aborted,  and  when  she  was  six  months  gone 
her  bag  swelled  up  and  teats  strutted  out  as  if  she 
would  calve  in  a  short  time.  I  gave  her  a  hypoder- 
mic injection  of  50  cubic  centimeters  of  the  two  per 
cent  carbolic  solution  and  repeated  the  dose  in  a 
week.  Her  bag  reduced  to  a  proper  size  and  she 
dropped  a  healthy  calf  at  the  regular  time. '  ' ' 


CHAPTER  V. 


MILK  FEVEKi. 

This  disease  usually  sets  in  24  to  48  hours 
after  the  birth  of  the  calf.  In  some  cases  as 
long  a  period  as  three  days  passes  before  the 
disease  develops.  The  most  common  symptoms 
first  noticed  are  a  weakness  in  the  legs,  espe- 
cially the  hind  legs.  The  cow  staggers  when  it 
walks  and  soon  falls  and  fails  to  rise,  lying  with 
its  head  on  the  side  of  the  breast.  Constipation 
is  one  of  the  symptoms  of  the  disease.  Many 
times  the  cow  appears  like  a  person  stricken 
with  apoplexy.  She  stops  eating,  and  ceases  to 
secrete  milk.  4 

Little  Trouble  in  Winter  Dairying. — Milk 
fever  has  been  one  of  the  most  fatal  diseases  to 
which  the  cow  was  subject.  Tlie  dread  of  it 
possessed  me  for  thirty  years  or  more,  but  I  had 
no  losses  from  this  cause  so  long  as  my  dairy 
was  operated  as  a  winter  dairy,  the  cows  all 
freshening  in  the  autumn  and  passing  their  dry 
period  on  pasture  supplemented  with  green  suc- 
culent feed  when  the  pastures  were  short  and 
being  fed  no  grain  food  during  their  dry  period, 

40 


APPARATUS  FOR  AIR-INJECTION  CURE  FOR  MILK  FEVER 


MILK  FEVER.  41 

which  was  usually  six  to  eight  weeks.  But  when 
I  embarked  in  the  certified  milk  business  I  was 
compelled  to  have  a  uniform  quantity  of  milk 
which  necessitated  having  cows  freshening  at 
all  times  of  the  year.  Tlien  my  experience  with 
milk  fever  commenced  and  continued  to  make 
me  losses  until  it  was  discovered  that  oxygen 
injected  into  the  udder  through  the  teats  was 
a  sure  cure.  Since  then  I  have  had  no  losses 
with  milk  fever. 

Air  Injection  Cure.— Later  it  was  learned  that 
pure  air  accomplished  the  same  results  as  did 
the  oxygen  and  it  is  much  less  expensive  as  well 
as  always  ' '  on  tap. ' '  All  daiiymen  should  have 
ready  for  use  an  apparatus  for  forcing  air  into 
the  udder,  but  in  case  it  is  not  at  hand  the  bi- 
cycle pump  may  be  used,  taking  care  to  have  it 
cleansed  as  thoroughly  as  possible  before  using. 
Tlie  accompanying  illustration  shows  the  ap- 
paratus for  injecting  air.  Remember  it  must 
be  kept  clean  and  sterile;  otherwise  the  udder 
may  become  infected  from  it. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


TUBERCULOSIS. 

Tlie  rapid  awakening  of  the  public  to  the 
danger  from  using  the  milk  of  tuberculous  cows, 
with  the  senseless  and  in  some  cases  frenzied 
antagonism  of  dairymen  to  the  tuberculin  test, 
causes  me  to  give  my  experience  covering 
twelve  years  with  the  tuberculin  test  for  de- 
tecting tuberculosis  in  cows. 

Experience  with  Tuberculosis.^ — My  experi- 
ence commenced  in  1895  when  I  embarked  in 
the  certified  milk  business.  Mine  was  the  first 
large  dairy  in  the  state  to  have  the  tuberculin 
test  applied  to  it.  I  had  little  information  to 
help  me  to  judge  how  large  a  percentage  of 
tuberculous  cows  I  should  find  and  it  required 
considerable  nerve  to  undertake  the  work, 
knowing  that  all  tuberculous  animals  would  be 
a  total  loss  to  me.  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  find 
that  only  three  per  cent  of  the  133  cows  tested 
reacted.  One  of  the  reacting  cows  was  the  cow 
from  which  the  family  was  using  milk.  This 
cow  was  in  good  beef  condition,  but  we  found  a 
tuberculous  ulcer  in  one  lung  as  large  as  a  pint 
cup. 

42 


TUBERCULOSIS.  43 

I  once  bought  three  cows  from  a.  dairy  after 
examining  them  carefully  and  when  the  tuber- 
culin test  was  apj)lied  two  of  the  three  reacted 
and  at  the  postmortem  examination  were  found 
tuberculous.  I  do  not  remember  one  case  where 
a  cow  had  reacted  to  the  tuberculin  test  that  she 
was  not  found  diseased  at  the  postmortem.  I 
liave  never  detected  any  bad  effects  from  the 
use  of  the  tuberculin  test. 

Contagion  of  the  Disease. — It  is  now  known 
that  hogs  and  calves  contract  tuberculosis  by 
being  fed  infected  skim-milk  from  creameries. 
It  is  also  known  that  hogs  contract  tuberculosis 
from  the  droppings  of  tuberculous  cows.  It  is 
easy  to  see  the  danger  of  milk  being  infected 
by  the  dust  from  the  dried  droppings  of  the  tu- 
berculous cows  getting  into  the  milk  at  milking 
time. 

Dean  H.  L.  Eussell,  of  the  Wisconsin  Agricul- 
tural College,  recently  made  the  following  state- 
ment: 

''The  great  danger  of  transmitting  tuberculosis 
from  the  bovine  to  the  human  is  through  the  child. 
In  the  case  of  a  baby,  an  infant  that  lives  upon  cow's 
milk  that  is  infectious,  there  is  not  any  question  but 
that  tuberculosis  is  sometimes  imparted  to  the  child 
in  that  way." 

Tuberculin  Reliable. — Tlie  tuberculin  test  I 
believe  to  be  very  reliable  when  intelligently 
applied.    Care  should  be  taken  to  have  the  cows 


44  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

in  a  normal  condition  when  the  test  is  com- 
menced. If  they  have  been  shipped  by  rail  or 
driven  a  distance  to  a  new  home,  allow  sufficient 
time  for  them  to  reach  a  normal  condition  be- 
fore commencing  the  test.  Cows  close  to  the 
calving  have  been  known  to  react  to  the  test 
when  they  are  not  diseased.  Common  sense  is 
useful  here  as  in  most  lines  of  work.  There 
have  been  mistakes  made  which  have  thrown 
discredit  on  the  work. 

Danger  in  Antagonizing  Test. — Dairymen 
who  are  antagonizing  the  tuberculin  test  are 
making  a  serious  mistake.  The  consumers  of 
milk  are  aroused  on  this  subject.  They  know 
the  danger  of  using  milk  from  tuberculous  cows 
and  will  not  continue  using  it.  I  advise  dairy- 
men to  cease  their  antagonism  to  the  tuberculin 
test  and  join  the  procession  of  people  who  are 
awakening  to  the  seriousness  of  the  situation. 
The  longer  you  antagonize  this  move  the  worse 
you  will  be  hurt  in  the  end. 

Self  interest  is  sufficient  cause  for  a  dairyman 
to  apply  the  tuberculin  test.  If  you  have  in- 
fected cows  in  your  herd  the  disease  is  almost 
sure  to  extend  to  other  animals  and  may  in 
time  infect  the  whole  herd.  There  have  been 
instances  where  the  whole  dairy  were  found 
tuberculous.  As  a  strict  business  matter  a 
dairyman  cannot  afford  to  take  the  chances  of 
neglecting  to  have  his  herd  tested  with  tuber- 
culin. 


TUBERCULOSIS.  45 

State  Should  Bear  Part  of  Loss. — New  York 
State  now  has  a  law  under  which  the  state  pays 
a  part  of  the  value  of  tuberculous  cows  up  to 
$75,  so  the  loss  does  not  come  entirely  on  the 
owner.  I  believe  this  is  right,  as  every  one  is 
interested  in  having  milk  free  from  contamina- 
tion by  disease  germs  and  should  help  pay  the 
losses.  It  is  not  right  that  the  owner  of  the 
cows  should  stand  all  the  loss.  The  owner  is 
innocent  in  99  cases  out  of  100.  No  man  who 
has  had  experience  in  this  field  will  undertake 
to  select  tuberculous  cows  from  a  herd.  He  can 
detect  those  in  the  advanced  stages,  but  he  can- 
not detect  one  out  of  five,  scarcely  one  out  of 
twenty,  except  by  the  use  of  the  tuberculin  test. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  COW  STABLE. 

Consumers  of  milk  are  now  beginning  to 
realize  that  there  is  often  something  wrong  in 
the  way  dairy  cows  are  stabled.  The  milk  too 
frequently  reminds  them  of  this  fact,  being  in 
such  condition  that  a  person  with  a  delicate 
stomach  cannot  accept  it  as  a  food,  for  the  sim- 
ple reason  that  the  stomach  rebels  against  it. 

A  Place  Where  Food  is  Prepared. — From 
thinking  of  the  stable  as  a  place  where  cows  are 
kept,  we  must  come  to  think  of  it  as  a  place 
where  human  food  is  prepared.  When  we  have 
brought  ourselves  to  this  way  of  thinking,  we 
are  prepared  to  build  an  up-to-date  sanitary 
cow  stable.  Let  us  think  a  little  more  about  this 
subject  before  we  commence  to  construct  this 
modem  cow  stable. 

I  once  made  the  statement  before  a  fairmer's 
convention  that  we  consume  more  filth  in  our 
milk  than  in  any  other  article  of  food.  At  the 
close  of  the  session  the  dean  of  an  agricultural 
college  said  to  me  that  I  might  safely  have 
said  more  than  in  all  otlier  articles  of  food. 

46 


THE  COW  STABLE.  47 

^liat  an  arraignment  this  is  for  us  as  a  class! 
If  we  cannot  improve  on  our  methods  of  build- 
ing cow  stables  and  caring  for  our  cows,  we 
shall  find  ourselves  indicted  by  the  consumers 
of  milk  in  the  near  future.  All  that  is  needed 
to  bring  this  indictment  is  for  them  to  secure  a 
little  more  evidence;  and  they  are  securing  it 
very  rapidly,  much  more  rapidly  than  pleases 
many  of  the  dairymen.  There  is  no  use  in  lon- 
ger tr^^ng  to  cover  our  faults;  the  only  way  to 
do  is  to  eradicate  them  root  and  branch.  We 
have  covered  them  too  long  already.  When  we 
have  brought  ourselves  to  a  realizing  sense  of 
the  conditions  that  exist  and  those  that  we  need 
to  secure,  we  are  ready  to  begin  the  construc- 
tion of  this  sanitary  cow  stable. 

The  Cow  Stable  as  a  Dining  Room. — I  will 
suggest  that  a  good  way  to  get  ourselves  to 
thinking  in  a  new  way  about  this  matter  would 
be  to  have  the  cook  some  evening  move  her 
work  of  preparing  supper  to  the  cow  stable 
where  her  father,  husband,  brother,  or  perhaps 
her  lover  is  milking  the  cows.  Do  I  hear  objec- 
tions to  this  ?  If  so,  why !  Is  not  the  cow  stable 
in  condition  to  receive  ladies!  Are  you  ashamed 
to  have  your  mother,  wife,  sister,  or  sweetheart 
call  on  you  there!  If  so  would  it  not  be  best  to 
postpone  the  milking  a  few  minutes  and  reno 
vate  the  stable,  put  it  in  shape  to  receive  com- 
pany, in  such  shape  that  you  can  eat  the  supper 


48  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

that  the  cook  is  preparing  there  for  you?  The 
probabilities  are  that  the  food  that  she  is  pre- 
paring at  the  stable  is  no  more  contaminated 
than  is  the  milk  that  you  obtain  from  the  cows, 
if  as  much.  The  milk  is  as  much  an  article  of 
food  as  anything  the  cook  is  prepairing  for  you. 

Personal  Cleanliness  Necessary. — I  suggest 
that  you  allow  the  cook  the  same  privileges  that 
you  take.  If  you  go  from  your  farm  work  to 
milking  without  washing  your  hands,  allow  the 
cook  to  go  from  other  housework  to  preparing 
the  supper  without  washing  her  hands.  It  will 
shock  her  to  do  it,  but  probably  she  may  be 
induced  to  do  it  once  to  give  you  a  lesson.  If 
you  do  your  milking  with  the  clothes  on  that 
you  have  been  doing  other  work  in,  let  the  cook 
have  the  same  J>rivilege.  What  matters  it  if 
she  waits  on  the  table  with  the  clothes  she  had 
on  when  she  scrubbed  the  floor!  That  is  not  as 
bad  as  your  milking  with  the  clothes  you  had  on 
when  currying  the  horses  or  cleaning  the  hog 
pen. 

You  need  to  have  this  matter  driven  home 
to  you,  and  with  some  it  requires  hard  blows 
to  do  this.  Eemember  that  there  is  no  food 
that  the  cook  is  preparing  tliat  will  be  so  readily 
contaminated  as  is  milk  from  impure  unclean 
surroundings.  It  is  as  necessary  to  cleanse  the 
cow's  udder  before  milking  as  it  is  to  cleanse 
vegetables  before  cooking;  yes,  more  necessary. 


THE  COW  fiTABLE.  49 

Tlie  vegetables  simply  have  dirt  attached  to 
them  which  is  clean  in  comparison  with  the  filth 
that  is  at  times  on  the  cows'  udders.  Moreover 
this  filth  is  there  for  the  simple  reason  that  the 
cow  is  maintained  in  such  a  way  that  she  can- 
not keep  clean. 

Location  of  the  Stable. — Tlie  sanitary  cow 
stable  may  be  located  wherever  most  conveni- 
ent, providing  it  is  not  so  near  the  house  as  to 
be  objectionable  on  account  of  unpleasant  odors. 
Locate  it  so  that  the  surface  drainage  wil]  not 
run  towards  the  house,  for  when  the  ground  is 
frozen  the  surface  water  from  the  cow  yard 
cannot  enter  the  sewers  and  must  flow  away  on 
the  surface.  A  stock  yard  of  any  kind  becomes 
so  packed  that  it  will  hold  water  like  a  tub  and 
the  water  must  be  trapped  into  the  sewer  or 
run  off  on  the  surface. 

A  Two-Story  Stable  Best.— The  cow  stable 
may  be  the  first  stoT}^  of  the  bam  or  it  may  be 
a  one-story  building.  I  prefer  to  have  a  story 
above  the  cows  for  hay  or  straw  as  it  makes  a 
warmer  ceiling,  and  gives  opportunity  for  a 
longer  or  higher  ventilating  flue  for  taking  off 
the  impure  air.  A  gTeat  objection  to  a  one- 
story  ceiling  is  that  it  becomes  cold  and  con- 
denses moisture,  which  freezes  in  cold  weather 
but  melts  the  first  mild  day  and  drips  onto  the 
cows,  later  causing  the  ceiling  to  mould  and  be- 
come unsanitarv^ 


50  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

Tlie  stone  basement  partially  underground  I 
have  no  use  for,  not  even  as  a  place  to  keep  hogs 
or  store  manure.  A  basement  story  in  a  framed 
barn  is  all  right;  it  gives  opportunity  for  plenty 
of  windows  and  it  is  entirely  practical  to  bridge 
to  the  second  story  if  one  desires  to  do  so,  and 
I  believe  it  is  a  good  plan.  Insist  upon  having 
windows  on  all  sides  of  the  barn.  There  is  no 
danger  of  having  too  much  light. 

Provide  Ample  Foundation. — The  foundation 
of  the  building  must  be  made  to  carry  the  load 
that  is  put  upon  it  and  much  depends  whether 
it  is  to  be  one  or  two  stories.  If  one  story  and 
a  wooden  floor  supported  by  joists  and  sills,  the 
outside  walls  need  to  be  somewhat  heavier,  and 
piers  will  be  required  when  a  stone  or  partition 
wall  is  not  built.  Many  bams  have  been  nearly 
ruined  by  not  having  sufficient  foundation  to 
prevent  their  settling  out  of  shape. 

The  writer  built  a  barn  in  1876  that  was  50x 
60  feet  with  28  feet  posts,  the  first  eight  feet  I  e- 
ing  for  stock.  Under  this  barn  were  over  forty 
piers,  those  under  the  posts  being  three  feet 
square  at  the  bottom.  Into  the  second  story  of 
this  bam,  when  it  was  twenty-five  years  old,  I 
put  a  cement  floor  and  it  is  carrying  it  perfectly. 
This  was  done  to  utilize  the  room  formerly 
given  to  storing  hay  but  was  no  longer  needed 
for  this  purpose  with  the  coming  of  the  silo. 

Be  sure  to  provide  for  ventilation  under  the 


THE  COW  STABLE.  51 

stable  floor  when  it  is  up  from  tlie  ground  or 
there  will  be  trouble  from  dry  rot.  Tliis  matter 
must  not  be  neglected. 

When  putting  in  a  foundation  for  a  bam  or 
stable,  place  a  four-inch  tile  outside  and  a  little 
below  the  foundation  wall  to  catch  and  carry  off 
all  the  surface  water  that  would  otherwise  get 
under  the  wall.  Tliis  costs  but  little  and  secures 
a  dry  foundation  that  prevents  the  settling  of 
the  walls  and  gives  an  outlet  for  the  waste  water 
from  the  roof  through  the  down  spouts. 

The  Cow  Stable  Floor. — The  stable  floor  may 
be  made  of  wood  or  cement.  The  latter  is  pre- 
ferable and  at  the  price  of  Portland  cement  it 
will  cost  no  more  to  put  in  cement  than  a  two- 
inch  wood  floor.  The  writer  has  cement  floors 
that  have  been  used  for  eight  years  and  they  are 
not  perceptibly  worn  yet.  A  cement  stable  floor 
should  be  as  well  laid  as  a  cement  sidewalk. 
Work  that  will  stand  in  a  sidewalk  will  stand  in 
a  cow  stable  floor. 

Do  not  smooth  the  cement  surface  of  the  stalls 
and  the  platform  on  which  the  cow  walks,  as 
this  makes  the  floor  too  slippery  for  the  cows. 
Leave  the  surface  in  the  same  condition  as  left 
by  the  wooden  float,  then  it  is  not  so  smooth  as 
to  cause  the  cows  to  slip.  Make  the  cement 
mangers  as  smooth  as  possible  as  they  are  more 
easily  cleaned. 

Tlie  cows  should  not  be  allowed  to  lie  on  the 


52  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

bare  cement  floor  but  should  liave  plenty  of 
bedding  to  keep  them  from  the  cement.  In  case 
the  dairyman  cannot  for  any  reason  do  this,  it 
will  be  best  for  him  to  put  a  board  or  plank  floor 
on  top  of  the  cement. 

A  Stable  Without  Stalls.— The  plan  of  having 
the  cows  run  loose  in  a  stable  without  stalls  or 
ties  except  stalls  in  which  to  put  the  cows,  a  few 
at  a  time,  to  be  milked,  appears  to  be  gaining 
friends.  I  know  some  who  are  using  this  method 
and  are  very  much  pleased  with  it.  The  cows 
are  fed  their  roughage  in  mangers  in  the  open 
stable  and  also  get  their  water  there.  They  are 
fed  their  ground  feed  in  the  milking  stalls  at 
milking  time. 

There  are  some  strong  points  in  favor  of  this 
method.  The  cows  are  more  comfortable  than 
when  confined  in  a  stall  or  stancheon.  The 
manure  does  not  need  to  be  moved  until  it  is 
drawn  to  the  land  and  there  is  no  waste,  as  it  is 
under  cover.  This  method  requires  that  suffi- 
cient bedding  be  used  to  absorb  all  the  liquid 
manure,  otherwise  the  cows  could  not  be  kept 
clean,  and  this  is  what  every  dair^rman  should 
do  to  save  all  the  manure.  The  cows  pack  the 
manure  in  this  way  so  there  is  practically  no 
loss  from  fermentation.  I  am  so  much  pleased 
with  this  method  that  in  case  I  fit  up  more 
cow  stables  I  shall  adopt  it. 


G 

o" 

SCAUC-rCCT 

=n1 

lO 

2           ^ 

MILKING  5TALL5 

i 

FEED    RA^KB          | 

WAITING 

RDDM 

/        Y 

A 

<»           X 

'  A 

IWATEnI 

^^_ 

cJI 

w 

"W Barn   Yard. 

AA Doors  large  enough   to  admit  manure  spreader. 

H Door  usually  closed  except   at  milking-  time. 

C Door    through    whicl-i     (in    the    summer    time)     cows 

may    pass    directly    into    waiting   room    "Y." 

DD Doors     (slats)     about     thirty     inches     wide,     through 

which   the   cows    enter   the   milking    stalls. 

MM.  ..  .Represent  the  milking  machine  standing  on  a  plat- 
form   "P"   between    the   cows. 

RR....Rods    to    which    the   cows    are   fastened    with    a   chain. 

BB Feed   Boxes. 

NOTE — A  considerable  quantity  of  meal  or  bran  is  stored 
under  each  feed  box  in  the  milking  stalls.  The 
operator  takes  feed  from  this  and  puts  it  into  the 
small  feed  boxes  "BB"  just  before  each  cow  enters. 
After  each  cow  is  milked  she  passes  through  the 
gate   "E"   and  another  takes  her  place. 

EE Single    small    bar    which    lifts    from    one    end,    which 

allows    the    cow    to   pass    out   after    she    is    milked. 

F Door     through    which     the     cow    passes,    after    being 

milked,  into  the  space  "Z."  This  door  is  opened 
by  a  rope  wliich  extends  overhead  to  the  operator 
in    each   milking   stall.      It   is    closed   by   a   weight. 

GG Doors   that   are   shut   only   at  milking  time. 

NOTE — At  the  beginning  of  the  milking  the  cows  are  all 
assembled  on  the  "X"  side  of  the  feed  racks  and 
the  gates  are  closed.  At  the  end  of  the  milking 
the  cows  are  all  on  the  "Z"  side  of  the  feed  racks. 
A  rope  with  pulley  and  weight  is  attached  to  the  pul- 
sator  of  each  machine — thus  the  pulsator  can  be 
suspended  to  allow  the  pail  to  be  emptied. 
The  partition  between  tlie  stalls  is  made  of  two  2x4s. 
one  about  sixteen  inches  above  the  other. 


A  COW  STABLE  WITH  MILKING  STALLS  ONLY 


THE  COW  STABLE.  53 

Cement  Mangers. — When  cement  mangers 
are  used,  the  cows  may  be  watered  in  the  barn 
if  it  is  so  desired,  as  the  mangers  can  easily  have 
all  food  removed  from  them  and  then  they  be- 
come an  ideal  place  to  water  the  cows.  The  ce- 
ment mangers  should  have  connection  with  the 
sewer  so  that  they  can  be  readily  cleansed. and 
can  be  easily  emptied  after  the  cows  are 
watered. 

Individual  Watering  Troughs. — I  once  came 
near  ordering  some  individual  watering  troughs 
or  buckets,  but  was  deterred  by  the  fear  of  their 
being  impracticable  or  at  least  requiring  too 
rnuxih  labor  to  keep  them  properly  cleansed.  I 
find  that  it  requires  constant  care  to  keep  in 
proper  condition  the  large  watering  tank  from 
which  the  cows  drink  out-of-doors.  Standing 
water  in  the  cow  stable  will  purify  the  atmos- 
phere, but  is  it  well  for  the  cows  to  drink  it 
after  it  has  served  this  purpose!  I  think  not. 
We  ourselves  object  to  drinking  water  which 
has  stood  in  an  open  vessel  in  the  house  for  a 
short  time.  If  we  remember  that  eighty-seven 
per  cent  of  the  milk  is  water  we  can  realize  the 
necessity  of  the  water  being  pure.  There  is  an- 
other objection  to  the  individual  watering 
bucket — the  danger  of  food  being  dropped  into 
it  by  the  cows,  as  they  will  drink  when  they 
have  food  in  their  mouths.  This  food  will  very 
soon   produce   objectionable   conditions   in   the 


54  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

bucket.  A  professor  in.  an  agricultural  college, 
who  had  traveled  in  several  states  looking  for 
ideas  to  incorporate  in  a  barn-  to  be  built  for 
the  college,  told  me  that  he  had  not  in  a  single 
instance  found  the  individual  water  devices  in 
good  condition. 

Cows  Drinking  from  Streams. — I  am  some- 
times amused  and  at  other  times  disgusted  with 
pictures  of  herds  of  cows  standing  in  streams  or 
pools  of  water.  The  pictures  are  often  pretty  to 
look  at,  but  only  stop  to  think  what  it  means. 
It  means  that  the  cow  drinks  from  the  source 
that  she  has  contaminated  by  her  sewerage. 

The  Cow  Stalls.— The  platform  of  the  stalls 
should  be  from  4%  to  SVl  feet  long  from  the 
gutter  to  the  manger.  When  there  is  to  be  more 
than  one  row  of  cows,  the  platforms  should  be 
made  of  different  width  or  make  them  wider 
at  one  end  than  at  the  other  end  of  the  stall  so 
as  tO'  give  each  cow  a  platform  that  fits  her 
length.  The  cows  that  can  stand  on  a  i^latform 
4%  feet  long  will  need  no  more  than  three  feet 
in  width,  but  a  cow  that  needs  a  platform  five 
or  more  feet  long  will  need  Sy^  feet  in  width  on 
the  platform.  These  widths  of  stalls  will  be 
right  for  individual  stalls  of  the  Drown  or  Bid- 
well  pattern  as  well  as  for  stanchions. 

The  model  stall  used  by  the  senior  editor  of 
'^ Hoard's  Dairyman"  is  a  most  excellent  one 
and  should  be  investigated  by  anyone  building 


THE  COW  STABLE.  55 

a  stable  for  cows.  Tlie  Drown  stall  is  a  good  one 
and  is  used  in  many  first-class  stables.  I  use  a 
stall  that  has  some  of  the  ideas  from  the  Drown 
stall,  some  features  of  the  Bidwell  and  some  of 
my  own  ideas,  one  of  which  is  the  continuous 
cement  manger.  This  stall  has  an  adjustable 
front  that  holds  the  cow  lined  on  the  gutter, 
which  is  necessary  if  she  is  to  be  kept  clean. 
The  cow  should  be  lined  on  the  gutter  instead  of 
on  the  manger. 

The  gutters  should  be  at  least  16  inches  wide, 
18  inches  is  better.  Let  them  be  6  inches  deep 
at  one  e-nd  and*  8  inches  at  the  other  which  will 
give  2  inches  fall  to  drain. 

Cow  Stanchion. — I  am  not  a  believer  in  the 
stanchion,  although  I  have  seventy  of  them  that 
I  use  for  heifers  and  dry  cows.  I  do  not  use 
them,  however,  in  the  milking  stables  because  of 
the  danger  of  having  a  cow's  udder  stepped  on 
by  the  cow  standing  next  to  liei';  this  is  suffi- 
cient to  condemn  the  stanchion.  I  have  lost  the 
use  of  more  teats  and  portions  of  a  cow's  udder 
from  this  <?ause  than  any  other.  A  cow  would 
step  on  the  udder  of  her  neighbor,  causing  a 
bruise  followed  by  inflammation  that  would 
often  end  in  the  loss  of  that  quarter  of  the  ud- 
der. A  bruised  teat  or  sore  udder  is  very  pain- 
ful to  the  cow  and  a  great  annoyance  to  the 
milker,  sufficient  to  spoil  the  temper  of  some 
milkers,  and  it  is  therefore  good  policy  to  avoid 


56  '^ii^  FARM.  DAIRY. 

all  such  accidents  we  can  as  a  prevention 
against  ugly  cows  and  ugly  milkers. 

Feeding  Space. — It  is  not  necessary  that  the 
feed  alleys  be  more  than  four  feet  wide,  al- 
though it  is  more  convenient  to  have  them 
wider.  The  alleys  through  which  the  cows  pass 
in  going  in  and  out  of  a  barn  need  not  be  more 
than  five  feet  wide  unless  one  wishes  to  drive 
through  the  barn  with  a  wagon  in  taking  the 
manure  out,  and  in  this  case  it  is  not  really  a 
necessity,  as  the  cows  may  be  turned  out  of  the 
stable  and  the  manure  wagon  may  then  be 
driven  on  the  i^latform.  Whether  or  not  to 
build  the  stable  for  two  or  more  rows  of  cows 
is  a  matter  of  choice  in  the  main.  When  putting 
in  two  rows  have  their  rumps  together  so  that 
a  wagon  may  be  driven  through  to  get  the 
manure,  and  when  four  rows  are  put  in,  it  is  best 
to  have  the  pairs  of  rows  with  rumps  together 
which  will  require  a  center  feed  alley  and  one 
on  each  side.  This  will  make  more  labor  in 
feeding  but  is  preferable  to  having  three  manure 
alleys.  More  light  can  be  secured  in  a  stable 
with  only  two  rows  of  cows,  but  all  the  light 
necessary  can  be  secured  when  there  are  four 
rows  and  arranged  so  that  light  can  be  admitted 
from  three  sides. 

Many  times  the  stable  is  built  as  a  lean-to  on 
one  side  or  two  sides  of  the  barn,  in  which  case 
it  is  good  practice  to  have  the  manger  toward 


THE  COW  STABLE.  57 

the  side  of  the  baTn  as  a  convenience  in  feeding. 
I  prefer  to  have  the  stable  built  as  an  ^ '  L  "  to  the 
bam.  A  cow  stable  should  have  as  much  light 
as  a  dwelling  house  and  more  than  many  of  the 
old  style  dwellings.  Put  in  full  sized  windows, 
using  9x14  six-light  sash.  Put  the  ceiling  ten 
feet  from  the  floor;  eight  feet  will  answer  if  you 
cannot  do  better.  Ceil  all  the  side  walls  and 
overhead  with  matched  lumber  to  protect  from 
the  frost  in  winter  and  to  give  a  better  surface 
to  keep  clean. 

Ventilation. — The  plan  of  having  a  certain 
number  of  cubic  feet  for  air  without  an}^  system 
of  ventilation  is  not  up-to-date,  and  is  not  eco- 
nomical in  any  way.  We  should  have  a  sys- 
tem of  ventilation  that  will  give  a  constant 
change  of  air.  I  use  the  King  system  and  know 
of  nothing  better. 

Disposal  of  Manure. — AVe  doubtless  get  the 
most  out  of  our  manure  when  it  is  removed  from 
the  stable  and  spread  over  a  field.  There  is  con- 
siderable food  value  in  manure  for  hogs  when 
the  cows  are  being  well  fed  on  grain,  even  when 
all  the  grain  is  ground,  and  it  doubtless  pays  in 
dollars  to  utilize  this.  I  have  known  dairymen 
to  allow  their  hogs  to  enter  the  stable  and  glean 
the  manure  before  the  cows  were  put  out  and 
then  load  the  manure  onto  the  spreader  or  a 
wagon  and  take  it  to  the  field.  This  method  is 
entirely  practical,  as  is  also  the  practice  of  put- 


58  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

ting  it  into  the  yard  for  the  hogs  to  work  over 
and  then  take  it  to  the  field.  Keep  the  manure 
away  from  the  barns.  I  do  not  allow  it  nearer 
than  thirty  feet  from  the  stable,  and  there  only 
when  it  cannot  be  taken  to  the  field  without 
damage  to  the  land  when  wet. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE  CONCEETE  COW  YARD. 

Tlie  cow  yard  had  always  been  an  unsolved 
problem  with  me  until  the  autumn  of  1904, 
when,  after  making  estimates  as  to  the  compara- 
tive cost  of  paving  with  brick  and  concrete,  I 
decided  to  pave  a  part  of  two  cow  yards  with 
concrete.  My  experience  ^vitll  gravel  in  the 
cow  yard  had  been  quite  unsatisfactory,  and 
plank,  I  had  learned,  would  last  only  about  five 
years.  I  was  able  to  purchase  Portland  cement 
delivered  at  DeKalb  for  $1.35  per  barrel  and 
the  gravel  cost  me  40c  per  cubic  yard  one  mile 
from  my  farm.  I  employed  one  skilled  man  in 
cement  work,  assisted  by  the  farm  help.  A  part 
of  this  work  we  made  the  same  as  a  sidewalk, 
using  one  part  of  cement  to  seven  of  gravel  in 
the  foundation  and  finished  it  the  same  as  a 
sidewalk  is  finished,  and  with  another  part  of 
the  work  we  used  one  part  of  cement  to  five  of 
gravel  and  did  not  put  on  -the  finishing  coat. 
We  found  very  little  difference  in  the  amount  of 
material  used  by  the  two  methods,  but  there 
was  a  saving  of  labor  by  putting  it  down  at  one 

59 


60  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

time,  and  as  it  is  a  simpler  matter  to  put  it  all 
down  with  one  operation,  it  does  not  require  so 
much  skilled  labor. 

Comparison  of  Results. — In  regard  to  the  suc- 
cess of  this  yard,  at  the  end  of  three  years  there 
is  not  a  flaw  in  the  cement  work  where  we  put 
on  the  finishing  coat  as  in  sidewalk  building,  ' 
but  I  do  find  a  break  in  the  work  where  we  did 
not  put  on  the  finishing  coat.  This  convinces 
me  that  it  is  best  to  build  it  as  a  sidewalk  is 
built. 

In  the  i>reparation  of  the  yard  for  the  con- 
crete, I  found  a  great  difference  of  opinion,  al- 
most every  one  thinking  it  necessary  to  put  in 
a  gravel  or  cinder  foundation.  My  belief  is  that 
it  is  simply  necessaiy  to  keep  the  earth  dry 
under  the  concrete  so  it  will  not  expand  when 
frozen  and  we  accomplished  this  with  tile.  I 
can  truthfully  state  that  I  have  never  spent 
money  at  my  farm  that  has  given  me  more  sat- 
isfaction than  the  money  which  I  invested  in 
the  concreted  cow  yards.  We  did  not  cover  the 
entire  yard,  but  enclosed  the  concreted  portion 
so  that  we  can  confine  the  cows  on  it  when  the 
outer  yard  is  muddy.  In  dcrj  weather  we  allow 
the  cows  to  go  into  the  outside  yard. 

Concrete  Hog  Feeding  Floor. — While  I  was 
paving  my  yard  the  owner  of  a  farm  near  De- 
Kalb  told  me  the  man  who  was  renting  her  place 
was  asking  for  a  platform  on  which  to  feed 


THE    CONCRETE   COW    YARD.  Ql 

hogs  and  I  suggested  a  concrete  platform,  as  I 
believed  it  would  cost  no  more  than  a  two-inch 
plank  iDlatform.  The  outcome  was  that  a  con- 
crete platform  was  made,  the  renter  drawing 
the  material  and  working  with  the  expert. 
When  through,  the  cost  was  found  to  be  no 
more  than  it  would  have  been  to  put  down  a 
two-inch  plank  platform  instead  of  the  four-inch 
concrete  feeding  floor.  A  trench  was  dug  eight- 
een inches  deep  around  the  sides  and  a  two  by 
six  laid  in  the  bottom  of  the  trench  and  cement 
put  on  top.  This  was  done  to  prevent  the  hogs 
getting  at  the  edge  of  the  wall.  Tliis  platform 
is  sound  after  three  years'  service.  I  sold  this 
neighbor  cement  at  cost,  which  was  40c  per  bar- 
rel below  the  retail  price,  which  of  course 
helped  to  keep  the  cost  down  to  the  cost  of 
lumber. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  PALATABILITY  OF  FEED. 

Tlie  profitable  feeding  of  dairy  cows  is  a  very 
important  matter,  and  a  careful  consideration 
of  this  subject  by  the  dairyman  will  be  time 
well  spent.  The  chemical  composition  and  the 
digestibility  of  feeds  are  of  great  importance 
and  deserve  a  certain  amount  of  attention,  but 
the  first  question  to  be  asked  in  regard  to  a  food 
is,  Will  the  cow  eat  it  with  a  relish  ?  Is  it  pala- 
table? 

Unpalatable  Feed  Unprofitable. — The  experi- 
ence of  many  of  the  most  successful  dairy  farm- 
ers has  led  them  to  believe  that  the  most  per- 
fectly balanced  food  may  lack  palatability  to 
such  a  degree  that  the  cow  will  not  consume 
sufficient  to  make  a  profit.  Experience  has 
taught  them  that  a  palatable  unbalanced  food  is 
superior  to  an  unpalatable  balanced  food.  It 
matters  not  how  much  nutriment  analysis  may 
show  a  food  to  contain;  if  the  cow  will  not  eat 
it  what  profit  are  we  to  secure  from  feeding  it? 
Do  not  understand  me  as  ignoring  the  desira- 
bility of  securing  a  balanced  ration  for  our  cows, 

C2 


THE    PALATABJLITY    OF   FEED.  63 

as  I  am  really  very  insistent  on  that  point.  AVe 
must  not  ignore  the  question  of  digestibility, 
but  experience  has  taught  me  that  a  palatable 
food  is  a  digestible  food;  in  fact,  I  believe  the 
palatability  of  food  is  a  correct  basis  on  which 
to  judge  its  digestibility.  How  to  secure  pala- 
tability is  a  live  question  and  one  that  is  not 
half  apiDTeciated  by  dairymen. 

Time  of  Cutting  Hay. — Experience  has  taught 
me  that  clovers  (medium  and  alsike)  make  ex- 
cellent hay  for  cows  when  cut  at  the  proper 
time.  Clover  hay  should  be  cut  as  soon  as  in 
full  blossom ;  in  fact,  it  is  best  to  commence  be- 
fore it  reaches  that  stage,  if  we  have  a  large 
quantity  to  cut,  as  some  of  it  will  have  passed 
that  stage  before  we  can  secure  all  of  it  unless 
we  commence  earlier.  The  great  majority  of 
farmers  do  not  cut  their  hay  as  early  as  they 
should.  A  pressure  of  other  farm  work  is  the 
most  common  excuse  for  this  neglect,  but  it  is 
not  a  sufficient  one  by  any  means.  I  have  heard 
farmers  say  their  hay  "spent  better'^  when  cut 
late,  which  is  probably  true  in  their  way  of 
looking  at  the  matter,  but  the  proper,  the  busi- 
ness way,  to  view  the  question  is  to  find  what 
profit  there  is  connected  with  the  work  of  feed- 
ing it  to  the  cows,  which  are  the  machines  that 
are  converting  this  food  into  milk. 

The  Cow  a  Manufacturer. — Some  writers  ob- 
ject to  a  cow  being  called  a  machine,  but  I  think 


g4  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

it  makes  little  difference  whether  we  call  her  a 
machine,  a  converter,  a  condenser  or  some  other 
same;  but  it  makes  a  great  difference  how  we 
feed  and  care  for  her.  Whatever  we  call  her, 
she  manufactures  our  coarse  fodder  and  grain 
into  milk  and  we  should  do  our  part  well  to  aid 
her  in  performing  this  work  to  our  profit.  She 
requires  a  certain  amount  to  keep  herself  in 
working  order  and  our  share  comes  after  she  has 
taken  care  of  herself,  and  whether  or  not  our 
share  is  sufficient  to  make  us  a  profit  depends 
many  times  on  the  way  we  have  cared  for  and 
fed  her.  There  are  thousands  of  unprofitable 
cows  in  the  country  that  might  be  made  profit- 
able by  intelligent  care  and  feeding.  Let  us 
commence  at  home  in  this  work  and  study  to 
see  if  there  is  not  some  way  in  which  we  can 
help  the  cow  to  do  better  work  for  us.  The 
cow  is  never  so  happy  as  when  she  is  cared  for 
in  a  way  that  she  can  do  her  very  best.  It  is 
with  the  bovine  family  as  it  is  with  the  human 
family,  where  the  true  source  of  happiness  is 
in  making  others  happy,  and  with  the  bovine 
family  when  we  make  them  happy,  they  yield  us 
a  profit  that  makes  us  happy. 

lYe  should  learn  to  know  as  soon  as  we  look 
over  a  cow's  surroundings  what,  if  anything, 
is  the  trouble,  what  should  be  done  that  has  not 
been  done  to  make  her  comfortable  and  con- 
tented.   There  are  many  things  which  I  cannot 


THE   PAL  AT  ABILITY   OF  FEED.  65 

describe  here  that  the  educated,  experienced 
dairyman  understands.  He  knows  intuitively 
when  he  goes  into  the  cow  stable  whether  things 
are  right  or  not. 

Value  of  Coarse  Feed. — ^We  should  study  to 
make  all  the  possible  use  we  can  of  the  coarse 
food,  as  it  is  the  most  economical  as  far  as  we 
can  utilize  it,  for  the  cow  is  better  off  than  when 
fed  an  excess  of  ground  feed.  We  should  re- 
member that  the  coarse  foods  are  the  most  eco- 
nomical so  far  as  we  can  use  them  and  keep  the 
cow  up  to  her  capacity  of  production.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  we  pay  dearly  when  we  fail  to 
secure  our  coarse  foods,  such  as  hay,  corn-fod- 
der and  silage,  in  the  best  possible  condition. 
We  can  simply  accept  our  failure  as  an  experi- 
ence for  which  we  have  paid  well  and  attempt 
to  derive  benefits  from  it  in  the  future. 

Selecting  Grain  Feed. — In  securing  ground 
feed  for  our  cows  we  need  to  look  for  those  that 
are  rich  in  protein.  When  buying  I  take  into 
account  the  cost  per  ton  and  the  percentage  of 
protein  a  feed  contains.  If  the  analysis  of  a 
feed  is  not  known,  we  all  have  the  privilege  of 
writing  to  our  state  experiment  stations  for  in- 
formation which  will  undoubtedly  be  freely 
given  and  which  can  be  relied  upon.  We  cannot 
always  accept  the  statements  of  agents  of  the 
commercial  foods. 


66  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

Calculating  Feed  Values.— When  buying  feed 

I  figure  about  as  follows:  Wken  com  is  worth 
50  cents  per  bushel,  it  costs  $18  per  ton,  which 
contains  125  lbs.  of  protein  and  makes  the  pro- 
tein cost  14  cents  per  pound. 

When  wheat  bran  costs  $16  per  ton  and  con- 
tains 250  lbs.  of  digestible  protein,  the  cost  per 
pound  of  protein  is  6.4  cents. 

When  oats  are  worth  32  cents  per  bushel  it  is 
equal  to  $20  per,  ton  which  contains  182  lbs.  of 
digestible  protein  and  makes  the  protein  cost 

II  cents  per  pound. 

With  the  Chicago  cream  gluten  meal  costing 
$26  per  ton  and  containing  644  lbs.  of  protein 
(or  32.2  per  cent)  the  protein  costs  4.5  cents 
per  pound. 

Grano  Gluten  feed  at  $17.20  and  containing 
26  7/10  per  cent  protein,  or  534  lbs.  in  a  ton, 
makes  the  protein  cost  3.25  cents  per  pound. 

Ground  oats  are  an  excellent  food  for  cows, 
but  many  times  they  are  bringing  such  a  price 
in  the  market  that  it  makes  it  economical  to  sell 
them  and  buy  some  of  the  feeds  that  are  rich  in 
protein.  To  illustrate:  a  ton  of  oats,  or  621/2 
bushels,  may  sell  at  28  cents  per  bushel  and  the 
$17  received  if  invested  in  gluten  meal  at  $28 
per  ton  will  buy  1,250  pounds  of  this  feed,  which 
contains  32  per  cent  or  more  of  protein.  Tliis 
exchange  of  oats  for  gluten  feed  gives  400 
pounds  of  protein  in  place  of  the  182  pounds 


THE   PAL  AT  ABILITY   OF  FEED.  gy 

that  the  ton  of  oats  contained.  Tlie  1,250 
pounds  of  gluten  meal  fed  with  corn  meal  will 
bring  better  returns  in  milk  than  the  ton  of 
oats.  I  find  that  I  cannot  dispense  with  gluten 
meal  as  a  part  of  my  cows'  rations. 

The  kiln-dried  by-products  of  the  glucose 
factories  and 'whiskey  distilleries  are  valuable 
and  economical  cow  feed  when  bought  intelli- 
gently. Insist  upon  reliable  information  as  to 
the  analysis  of  them.  Many  of  the  states  have 
laws  that  are  respected,  and  these  feeds  are 
pretty  sure  to  contain  more  protein  than  is 
guaranteed,  but  it  may  not  be  so  always  in 
states  which  have  no  laws  requiring  any  guar- 
antee from  the  manufactm^ers. 

Keep  the  Mangers  Clean. — It  may  be  said  in 
this  connection  that  whatever  the  food,  all  that 
is  rejected  by  the  cows  should  be  removed  and 
fed  to  the  dr}^  cows,  the  young  cattle  or  the 
horses.  Do  not  leave  it  in  the  cows'  mangers. 
Remember  always  that  your  profit  comes  from 
what  food  you  can  induce  the  cow  to  consume 
above  what  she  must  have  to  sustain  herself 


CHAPTER  X. 


TYPICAL  EATIONS  FOE  DAIEY  COWS. 

While  quite  a  number  of  dairymen  have  fig- 
ured out  balanced  rations  for  their  cows,  accord- 
ing to  the  feeding  standard  of  the  scientists 
which  are  now  used  as  a  basis,  most  farmers 
prefer  to  have  this  work  done  for  tliem.  They 
would  rather  adopt  a  ration  suggested  in  plain 
pounds  by  some  authority  on  food  stuffs  or  one 
known  to  have  given  profitable  results  in  actual 
use.  For  the  benefit  of  dairy  farmers  I  have 
collected  rations  from  widely  separated  parts  of 
agricultural  America,,  embracing  nearly  all  thie 
feeds  that  are  used  in  milk  making  in  this  coun- 
try. The  dairy  departments  of  state  agricul- 
tural colleges  have  furnished  this  matter  at  my 
request  and  in  several  instances  the  professors 
have  submitted  also  helpful  comments.  I 
recommend  these  various  rations  to  the  study 
of  farmers  as  coming  from  eminent  authorities 
on  dairy  cattle  feeding  both  from  the  scientific 
and  the  practical  point  of  view. 

University  of  Illinois. — The  Department  of 
Dairy  Husbandry  of  the  University  of  Illinois 

68 


TYPICAL  RATIONS  FOR  DAIRY  COWS.  69 

at  Urbana  offers  the    appended    general    com- 
ments on  the  subject  of  feeding  dairy  cows: 

We  send  you  a  few  rations,  with  the  attempt  to 
suit  them  to  farmers  who  have  neither  silos  nor  al- 
falfa, but  pointing  out  the  great  economy  of  these 
two  feeds  when  fed  together.  We  find  them  the  most 
econ-omical  producers  of  milk.  It  is  true  that  there 
are  great  evils  resulting  when  one  attempts  to  use 
either  alone. 

The  subject  of  feed  for  the  dairy  cow  is  one  about 
which  we  have  much  to  learn.  One  should  use  all  the 
home-grown  feeds  possible,  yet  such  feeds  are  often 
expensive  because  one  can  sell  them  and  buy  mill 
feeds  at  a  profit.  It  seldom,  or  never,  pays  to  feed  a 
pound  of  oats.  On  the  other  hand,  one  acre  of  al- 
falfa produces  more  protein  food  than  three  acres 
of  corn  or  six  acres  of  oats,  or  two  acres  of  clover. 
The  corn  plant  produces  more  starch  and  sugar  than 
any  other  plant.  These  two  should  form  the  bulk  of 
the  ration  for  dairy  cows.  What  to  add  depends 
upon  conditions.  If  one  is  compelled  to  buy,  he  will 
do  far  better  to  secure  a  mixture  than  to  decide  on 
the  best  feed  and  depend  upon  that  alone. 

Some  of  these  fundamental  facts  in  the  feeding  of 
dairy  cows  may  be  thus  summarized : 

1.  Alfalfa  land  furnishes  the  cheapest  protein 
food  for  cows  known. 

2.  Corn,  especially  when  labor  is  cheaper  than  at 
present  so  the  silo  can  be  used  more  generally,  is  the 
best  fat  producing  feed  for  dairy  cows. 

3.  Use  these  two  as  home-grown  feeds. 

4.  A  single  feed,  like  corn  meal,  produces  small 
yields,  and  has  evil  effects  upon  the  cow. 

5.  The  same  is  true  of  any  single  feed,  such  as 
oil  meal,  gluten  feed  or  silage. 


70  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

6.  To  make  milk  cheaply,  the  cow  will  always 
succeed  better  with  a  variety  father  than  with  a 
single  feed,  even  though  the  latter  be  the  most  per- 
fect single  feed  known. 

7.  When  feeding  a  heavy  ground  grain  ration,  it 
is  best  to  mix  some  coarse  bulky  feed,  such  as  bran 
or  chopped  hay.  Bran,  however,  is  very  expensive 
at  present. 

8.  If  bran,  oats  and  chopped  hay  are  too  expen- 
sive, try  the  plan  of  feeding  a  mixture  of  three  or 
more  grains. 

9.  Silage  is  one  of  the  best  foods  known  to  stimu- 
late milk  flow,  providing  sufficien't  protein  feed  is 
given  in  connection  with  it. 

10.  Silage  cannot  produce  milk  alone,  since  it  has 
little  protein  in  it.  Many  farmers  have  tried  feeding 
corn  meal,  timothy  hay  and  silage,  and  soon  found 
that  cows  shrank  in  milk,  which  is  to  be  expected. 
Silage  is  a  fattening  food,  and  if  no  protein  is  fed 
with  it,  a  cow  must  soon  shrink  in  milk  flow.  If 
clover  or  alfalfa  is  fed,  then  the  succulent  silage  is  a 
stimulant  to  production. 

11.  Do  not  condemn  silage  because  you  found  it 
wanting.  Part  of  its  value  is  as  a  stimulant  and  an 
aid  to  digestion,  but  there  must  be  other  feeds  with 
it. 

Ration  No.  1. 

Lbs. 

Clover  hay 15 

Com  &  cob  meal.      11 

Oil  meal 1 

Gluten  meal   ....       2 

29  2.27  13.23  .82 


Carbo- 

otein. 

hydrates. 

Fat. 

1.02 

5.37 

.25 

.48 

6.60 

.32 

.25 

.40 

.03 

.52 

.86 

.22 

TYPICAL  RATIONS  FOR  DAIRY  COWS.  71 

Ration  No.  2. 

Note  in  the  ration  below  how  the  same  nutrients 
are  secured  with  a  saving  of  both  hay  and  grain. 

Carbo- 
Lbs.      Protein,      hydrates.      Fat. 

Clover  hay 12  .82  4.30  .20 

Silage   40  .36  4.52  .28 

Corn  meal 4  .32  2.66  .18 

Gluten  meal 2  .52  .86  .22 

Linseed  meal 1  .28  .40  .03 


59  2.30  12.74  .91 

Ration  No.  3. 


Note  in  the  ration  belo 

\v  the  high 

protein  contents 

of  alfalfa  hay,  thus  saving  grain  as- 

1  well. 

Carbo- 

Lbs. 

Protein. 

hydrates. 

Fat. 

Alfalfa  hay 

15 

1.65 

6.00 

.18 

Sorghum  fodder.. 

10 

.12 

5.00 

.02 

Corn  meal 

4 

.32 

2.66 

.18 

29       '     2.09  13.66  .38 

Ration  No.  4. 

Three  pounds  of  alfalfa  hay  may  be  saved  per  day, 
but  at  the  expense  of  several  pounds  of  mill  feeds. 

Carbo- 
Lbs.      Protein,      hydrates.      Fat. 

Alfalfa  hay 12  1.32  4.80  .14 

Sorghum  fodder..     10  .12  5.00  .02 

Corn  meal 4  .32  2.66  .18 

Gluten  feed 1  .20  .48  .09 

Oil  meal 1  .29  .40  .03 

28  2.25  13.34  .46 


72  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

Kation  No.  5. 

In  the  ration  below  note  how  alfalfa  and  silage 
produce  the  same  nutrients  as  the  above  rations, 
with  much  less  mill  feed. 

Carbo- 

.  Lbs.      Protein,      hydrates.  Fat. 

Alfalfa  hay 12             1.32             4.80  .14 

Silage   .40              .36             4.52  .28 

Corn  meal 6  .            .47             4.00  .25 


.      58  2.15  13.32  .67 

Iowa  State  College. — H.  G.  Van  Pelt,  Assist- 
ant Professor  and  Superintendent  Dairy  Farm, 
Ames,  contributes  the  subjoined : 

Many  different  kinds  of  rations  are  fed  in  this 
state.  In  the  season  of  grass  very  little  is  fed  except 
grass.  There  is  very  little  soiling  done  and  silos  are 
scarce.  In  the  winter  time  a  large  number  of  the 
cows  in  this  state  subsist  on  corn  and  cob  meal  with 
oats  mixed  in.  Some  farmers  use  bran,  but  not  to  a 
very  great  extent.  The  ration  most  commonly  used 
is  probably  clover  and  timothy  hay  mixed,  20  lbs., 
corn  stover  20  lbs.,  corn  6  lbs.,  oats  3  lbs.  At  the 
college  we  have  fed  during  the  last  year  corn  silage, 
clover  hay,  corn  meal,  ground  barley,  gluten  feed, 
cottonseed  meal,  and  some  ground  oats.  Our  cows 
are  given  all  the  corn  silage  and  hay  they  will  clean 
up.  The  grain  is  given  them  in  amounts  varying 
with  their  production,  varying  from  2  to  15  pounds 
daily.  The  average  ratian  is  in  the  neighborhood  of 
6   to  8  pounds. 


TYPICAL  RATIONS  FOR  DAIRY  COWS.  73 

University  of  Wisconsin. — D.  H.  Otis,  Asso- 
ciate in  Animal  Nutrition,  College  of  Agricul- 
ture, Madison,  offers  the  following: 

Probably  the  best  dairy  ration  for  Wisconsin  con- 
ditions would  be  corn  silage  30  lbs. ;  clover  hay  12 
lbs. ;  corn  meal  4  lbs. ;  oats  (or  wheat  bran)  2  lbs.  The 
roughage  should  be  regulated  so  as  to  give  the  cow 
all  she  will  eat  up  clean.  The  amount  of  grain 
should  be  regulated  according  to  the  production  of 
the  cow.  One  pound  of  grain  daily  for  each  pound 
of  butter-fat  produced  weekly  is  a  fair  guide,  al- 
though it  may  be  a  little  too  much  where  clover  or 
alfalfa  form  the  roughage. 

University  of  Minnesota.— T.  L.  Haecker, 
Dairying  and  Animal  Nutrition,  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station,  St.  Anthony  Park,  jTresents 
some  rations  which  have  been  in  use  in  the  sta- 
tion dairy^  herd: 

Three  of  these  practical  rations  are  from  our  win- 
ter's record.  On  account  of  weighing  feed  stuff  to 
each  animal  during  the  past  twelve  years,  we  have 
used  only  upland  prairie  hay.  We  do  this  because 
cows  eat  it  up  cle'an,  and  because  it  is  of  uniform 
composition.  I  use  prairie  hay,  silage  and  grain; 
fodder  corn,  bay  and  grain;  clover  and  grain,  and 
clover  and  timothy  and  grain. 

The  proportions  of  the  different  kinds  of  grain  are 
largely  governed  by  the  market  prices.  In  one  ra- 
tion I  have  corn  4  lbs.,  barley  1  lb.  This  is  because 
barley  is  so  expensive.  I  do  not  want  to  feed  five 
pounds  of  corn  and  no  barley,  because  more  variety 


74  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

in  the  mixture  is  desirable.  In  a  general  way  corn 
and  barley  are  interchangeable;  the  same  is  true 
with  oats  and  bran.  If  oats  is  cheaper  than  bran 
I  feed  it,  otherwise  bran  is  used.  We  always  use  oil 
meal  instead  of  gluten  feed  because  it  is  manufac- 
tured up  here.  On  general  principles  I  do  not  be- 
lieve in  going  farther  away  from  home  for  our  feed 
stuffs  than  is  absolutely  necessary. 

A  cow  weighing  608  lbs.,  yielding  a  daily  average 
for  the  winter  of  22  lbs.  of  milk  testing  5.4  per  cent 
butter-fat,  had  corn  4  lbs.,  barley  1  lb.,  bran  3  lbs., 
oil  meal  2  lbs.,  prairie  hay  9  lbs.,  silage  16  lbs. 

A  cow  weighing  821  lbs.,  yielding  a  daily  average 
for  the  winter  of  23.8  lbs.  of  milk  (1.15  lbs.  fat  per 
day),  had  corn  4  lbs.,  barley  1  lb.,  bran  3  lbs.,  oil 
meal  2  lbs.,  prairie  hay  10  lbs.,  silage  (drilled  corn) 
25  lbs. 

A  cow  weighing  1,095  lbs.,  yielding  a  daily  average 
for  the  winter  of  33  lbs.  milk  testing  3.5  per  cent  but- 
ter-fat, had  corn  4  lbs.,  barley  2  lbs.,  bran  4  lbs.,  oil 
meal  2  lbs.,  prairie  hay  10  lbs.,  silage  30  lbs. 

For  a  cow  weighing  1,000  lbs.  and  yielding  daily 
20  lbs.  of  milk  testing  4.5  per  cent  butter-fat,  this 
ration  is  good :  corn  4  lbs.,  barley  3  lbs.,  clover  hay 
20  lbs. 

For  a  cow  weighing  1,2(X)  lbs.  and  yielding  daily 
30  lbs.  of  milk  testing  3  per  cent  butter-fat,  the  fol- 
lowing ration  is  good :  Corn  4  lbs.,  barley  2  lbs., 
bran  4  lbs.,  clover  and  timothy  hay  20  lbs. 

University  of  Nebraska. — A.  L.  Haeeker, 
Dairy  Husbandry,  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station,  Lincoln,  makes  these  suggestions: 


TYPICAL  RATIONS  FOR  DAIRY  COWS.  75 

Three  rations  for  dairy  cows  suit  Nebraska  condi- 
tions very  well.  Ration  Xo.  2  is  perhaps  the  cheap- 
est and  quite  as*  good  as  the  others,  but  for  variety  I 
submit  three.  These  rations  are  for  a  l,0O0-lb.  cow 
producing  20  lbs.  of  4  per  cent  milk  per  day. 

Ration  No.  1 :  corn,  2  lbs. ;  bran,  2  lbs. ;  oil  meal, 
1  lb. ;  alfalfa,  6  lbs. ;  corn  stover,  20  lbs. 

Ration  No.  2:  Corn,  4  lbs.;  bran,  2  lbs..;  alfalfa,  8 
lbs. ;  corn  silage,  35  lbs. 

Ration  No.  3:  Corn,  3  lbs.;  bran,  2  lbs.;  oil  meal. 
1/2  lb. ;  alfalfa,  6  lbs. ;  corn  silage,  30  lbs. ;  sorghum, 
8  lbs. 

University  of  Missouri.— C.  H.  Eckles,  Pro- 
fessor of  Dairy  Husbandry,  College  of  Agricul- 
ture, Columbia,  furnishes  the  subjoined: 

The  following  are  about  typical  dairy  cow  rations 
for  Missouri  conditions.  The  rations  are  designed 
for  animals  producing  possibly  25  lbs.  of  milk  per 
day. 

Ration  No.  1 :  Clover  hay,  20  lbs. ;  corn  (ground  or 
crushed  corn  and  cob),  5  to  6  lbs. ;  bran  or  oats,  3  to  5 
lbs. 

Ration  No.  2  :  Alfalfa  or  cow  pea  hay,  10  lbs. ;  corn 
fodder  (field  cured  and  fed  whole),  10  lbs.;  corn 
(ground  or  crushed  corn  and  cob),  7  to  9  lbs.;  bran, 
3  lbs. 

Ration  No.  3 :  Corn  silage,  40  lbs. ;  clover  hay,  12 
lbs.;  corn  (ground  or  crushed  corn  and  cob),  5  lbs.; 
bran,  4  lbs. 

Ration  No.  4:  Alfalfa  or  cow  pea  hay,  15  to  20 
lbs.;  corn  (ground  or  crushed  corn  and  cob),  8  to 
12  lbs. 


76  T'HE  FARM  DAIRY. 

Ration  No.  5 :  Corn  silage,  20  lbs. ;  alfalfa  or  cow 
pea  hay,  15  lbs.;  corn  (ground  or  crushed  corn  and 
cob),  8  to  10  lbs. 

Cornell  University. — H.  H.  Wing,  Professor 
of  Animal  Husbandry,  New  York  State  College 
of  Agriculture,  Ithaca,  supplies  this  informa- 
tion: 

A  typicalration  for  milch  cows  in  this  state  would 
be :  Corn  silage,  40  to  45  lbs. ;  mixed  clover  and  tim- 
othy hay,  8  to  10  lbs. ;  concentrates,  8  to  12  lbs.  A 
typical  mixture  of  concentrates  would  be  by  weight : 
50  parts  gluten,  25  parts  wheat  bran  or  middlings, 
25  parts  of  corn  or  corn  and  oats.    , 

Dried  distillers'  grains  are  extensively  used  in 
place  of  the  gluten  as  a  protein  food,  and  buckwheat 
middlings  and  cotton  seed  meal  are  both  used  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent  for  the  same  purpose. 

University  of  Vermont. — diaries  L.  Beach, 
Professor  of  Dairy  Husbandry,  State  Agricul- 
tural College,  Burlington,  writes: 

I  do  not  think  I  can  give  you  a  typical  Vermont 
ration.  There  are  all  kinds  and  classes  of  dairymen 
in  this  state  and  the  feeding  practice  is  as  variable  as 
the  skill  and  intelligence  of  the  dairymen  them- 
selves. From  some  knowledge  of  the  markets  I 
would  suggest  the  following  as  an  economical  ra- 
tion :  Corn  silage,  30  lbs. ;  mixed  hay,  12  lbs. ;  cotton 
seed  meal,  2  lbs. ;  gluten  feed,  1  lb. ;  wheat  bran,  2 
lbs. ;  dried  brewers '  grain,  2  lbs. 

Kentucky  State  University. — Prof.  M.  A. 
Scovell,    Director    State    EJxperiment     Station, 


TYPICAL  RATIONS  FOR  DAIRY  COWS.  77 

Lexington,  mentions  the  following  as  the  best 
rations  for  that  section,  and  not  as  those  gen- 
erally used: 

In  many  parts  of  our  state,  especially  the  bliiegrass 
region,  we  have  an  abundance  of  grass  and  therefore 
feed  very  Httle  concentrates  in  the  summer  time.  A 
good  daily  winter  ration  for  a  cow  in  full  flow  of 
milk,  giving  from  32  to  40  lbs.  of  milk  per  day,  is 
as  follows : 

Ration  No.  1 :  Bran,  8  lbs. ;  corn  meal,  2  lbs. ;  cot- 
ton seed  meal,  2  lbs. ;  linseed  meal,  1  lb. ;  clover  or 
alfalfa  hay  as  much  as  will  be  eaten. 

Ration  No.  2 :  Bran,  6  lbs. ;  crushed  oats,  2  lbs. ; 
cotton  seed  meal,  2  lbs. ;  silage,  30  lbs. ;  and  clover 
hay  as  much  as  will  be  eaten. 

Dry  cows  and  young  stock  can  be  fed  corn  fodder 
or  stover,  clover  hay  and  probably  a  little  corn.  Glu- 
ten feed  is  not  much  used  in  this  state,  although  it 
could  be  substituted  for  the  cotton  'seed  meal  in  pro- 
portion to  the  protein  it  contains,  or  substituted  for 
some  of  the  bran,  using  one  pound  of  gluten  feed  in- 
stead of  two  pounds  of  bran.  Any  ration  should  be 
changed  according  to  the  capacity  of  the  individual 
cows. 

Georgia  State  College. — Prof.  C.  L.  Willough- 
by,  Dairyman,  Agricultural  Experiment  Sta- 
tion,  Expenment,  responds  thus  with  an  out- 
line of  the  feeding  of  dairy  cattle  as  practiced  in 
the  South: 

The  rations  submitted  are  among  a  number  which 
have  been  recommended  by  the  Georgia  Experinient 


78  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

Station  to  the  dairy  farmers  of  this  state  as  espe- 
cially suitable  to  southern  conditions  for  cows  of 
1,000  lbs.  weight. 

Ration  No.  1 :  Corn  silage,  40  lbs. ;  cottonseed  meal, 
8  lbs. 

Ration  No.  2 :  Corn  silage,  40  lbs. ;  cotton  seed 
meal,  5  lbs. ;  bran,  3  lbs. 

Ration  No.  3:  Hay  (mixed  grasses),  20  lbs.;  corn 
meal,  4  lbs. ;  cotton  seed  meal,  3  lbs. 

Ration  No.  4 :  Cotton  seed  hulls,  20  lbs. ;  cotton- 
seed meal,  4  lbs.. ;  bran,  5  lbs. 

Ration  No.  5:  Cotton  seed  hulls,  25  lbs.;  cotton 
seed  meal,  5  lbs. 

Ration  No.  6 :  Cow  pea  hay,  15  lbs. ;  shredded  corn 
stalks,  10  lbs.;  cotton  seed  meal,  2  lbs.;  corn  meal, 
2  lbs. 

Mississippi  Agricultural  College.— J.  S. 
Moore,  Professor  of  Dairy  Husbandry,  Agricul- 
tural College,  thus  sets  forth  the  combinations 
of  food  stuffs  in  favor  in  that  state  and  recom- 
mended by  the  college: 

The  rations  are  designed  to  furnish  materials  in 
about  the  proper  proportions  for  the  production  of 
milk  by  cows  weighing  from  800  to  1,000  lbs.  and 
yielding  from  20  lbs.  to  24  lbs.  of  milk  a  day.  For 
cows  giving  a  larger  amount  the  ration  should  be  in- 
creased and  for  cows  falling  under  that  yield  it 
should  be  reduced. 

Ration  No.  1 :  Johnson  grass  hay,  13  lbs. ;  cotton 
seed  hulls,  15  lbs.;  cotton  seed  meal,  3  lbs.;  wheat 
bran,  4  lbs. 


TYPICAL  RATIONS  FOR  DAIRY  COWS.  79 

Ration  No.  2 :  Cow  pea  hay,  15  lbs. ;  corn  silage,  40 
lbs. ;  wheat  bran,  5  lbs. 

Ration  No.  3 :  Cotton  seed  hulls,  20  lbs. ;  cotton 
seed  meal,  4  lbs. ;  wheat  bran,  5  lbs. 

Ration  No.  4 :  Cow  pea  hay,  10  lbs. ;  cotton  seed 
hulls,  15  lbs. ;  cotton  seed  meal,  3  lbs. 

Ration  No.  5 :  Cow  pea  hay,  10  lbs. ;  Bermuda 
grass  hay,  10  lbs. ;  wheat  bran,  3  lbs. ;  cotton  seed,  6 
pounds. 

Ration  No.  6 :  Bermuda  grass  hay,  18  lbs. ;  cotton 
seed  meal,  2  lbs. ;  wheat  bran,  3  lbs. ;  corn  and  cob 
meal,  3  lbs. 

Ration  No.  7 :  Cow  pea  hay,  15  lbs. ;  cotton  seed, 
8  lbs. ;  corn  meal,  6  lbs. 

Ration  No.  8  :  Sorghum  hay,  20  lbs. ;  cow  pea  hay, 
10  lbs. ;  cotton  seed  meal,  3  lbs. 

Ration  No.  9  :  Alfalfa,  15  lbs. ;  cotton  seed  hulls,  12 
lbs. ;  cotton  seed  meal,  3  lbs. 

Ration  No.  10 :  Crab  grass  hay,  15  lbs. ;  cowpea 
hay,  12  lbs. ;  cotton  seed,  6  lbs. 

North  Carolina  College  of  Agriculture. — John 
Micliels,  Professor  of  Animal  Husbandry  and 
Dairying,  West  Ealeigli,  takes  a  position  in  re- 
gard to  the  feeding  of  cottonseed  hulls  which 
will  interest  all  southern  dairymen : 

The  dairy  rations  submitted  would  meet  North 
Carolina  conditions.  These  rations  are  calculated  for 
cows  yielding  from  28  lbs.  to  32  lbs.  of  milk  of  good 
quality.  You  may  be  surj^rised  that  I  have  not  in- 
cluded cotton  seed  hulls,  a  common  feed  with  us.  I 
wish  to  say  that  the  cost  alone  of  this  material  abso- 
lutely precludes  its  feeding,  and  if  the  cost  were  rea- 


80  "FHE  FARM  DAIRY. 

sonable,  it  would  not  be  desirable  to  feed  any  of 
this  material  to  cows  for  any  length  of  time,  as  it 
has  been  my  experience  that  the  continuous  feeding 
of  cotton  seed  hulls  will  soon  make  a  poor  producer 
out  of  a  good  one. 

Kation  No.  1:  Corn  silage,  30  lbs.;  corn  stover, 
8  lbs. ;  cotton  seed  meal,  4  lbs. ;  corn  meal,  3  lbs. ; 
dried  brewers '  grains,  4  lbs. 

Ration  No.  2 :  Pea  vine  hay,  8  lbs. ;  corn  stover, 
8  lbs. ;  cotton  seed  meal,  3  lbs. ;  wheat  bran,  4  Ib^. 

Ration  No.  3 :  Corn  stover,  15  lbs. ;  cotton  seed 
meal,  3  lbs. ;  dried  brewers'  grains,  4  lbs.;  corn  meal, 
4  lbs. 

Ration  No.  4 :  *  Corn  silage,  30  lbs. ;  corn  stover,  8 
lbs.;  cotton  seed  meal,  5  lbs.;  dried  brewers'  grains, 
2  lbs. :  corn  meal,  4  lbs. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


WATERING  COWS  IN  WINTER. 

I  always  warm  the  water  for  my  cows  as  soon 
as  cool  weather  comes  in  the  fall,  believing  that 
the  cow  should  have  her  choice  in  the  matter 
and  having  learned  from  her  that  she  prefers  to 
have  it  warm.  I  have  a  steam  boiler  at  my 
farm  and  a  reservoir  for  water  on  the  floor  above 
from  which  the  water  runs  through  pipes  un- 
derground to  the  watering  tanks  in  the  yards. 
The  steam  pipe  is  connected  with  the  water 
pipes  so  when  we  wish  to  warm  the  water  we 
open  the  steam  valve  and  inject  enough  steam 
into  the  water  to  give  it  the  desired  tempera- 
ture. I  warm  the  water  to  a  temperature  of  75 
to  80  degrees.  The  cows  give  more  milk  when 
they  have  warm  water.  They  also  look  better 
and  are  less  liable  to  sickness. 

Danger  in  Cold  Water. — It  is  safe  to  allow  a 
cow  to  drink  all  the  warm  water  she  wants  at 
any  time,  but  it  is  not  safe  to  allow  her  to  drink 
cold  water  at  all  times.  This  I  paid  well  to 
know.  I  remember  well  one  Sunday  morning 
man^^  years  ago,  when  there  was  a  fresh  cow  to 

81 


82  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

care  for  and  the  hired  man,  who  had  been  told 
never  to  let  a  fresh  cow  have  cold  water  to 
drink,  was  in  a  hurry  to  go  to  church.  He  gave 
her  cold  water  to  save  time  and  killed  the  cow. 
He  took  the  chances  and  I  paid  for  it  by  losing 
an.  excellent  cow.  I  do  not  allow  cold  water  to 
go  into  the  troughs  in  cold  weather,  but  warm  it 
as  described,  and  when  the  cows  are  through 
drinking  the  tanks  are  emptied  into  the  sewer 
so  there  is  no  ice  in  them  when  we  water  next 
time.  I  have  heard  men  argue  that  warm  water 
is  not  palatable  to  stock,  but  I  am  sure  that 
does  not  apply  to  cows  or  young  stock,  as  I  once 
saw  my  youngsters  get  into  a  tank  to  get  the 
warm  water  that  was  running  out  of  the  pipe 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  tank  where  they 
could  not  reach  it  without  getting  into  the  tank. 
Cows  Choose  Warm  Water. — I  have  also 
watched  my  cows  in  the  pasture  in  summer  and 
fall  where  I  have  an  eight-inch  tile  opening  into 
a  ditch  about  forty  rods  from  a  stream  into 
which  the  ditch  empties.  In  warm  weather  the 
cows  would  drink  from  this  open  ditch  near 
where  it  emptied  into  the  stream;  but  when  it 
became  cool  in  the  fall  they  would  drink  at  the 
mouth  of  the  tile.  In  each  case  they  were  after 
the  warmest  water  and  to  secure  it  they  allowed 
it  to  run  in  the  oj^en  ditch  to  become  warmed 
by  the  sun  and  the  hot  weather,  but  in  cool 
weather  thev  took  it  as  it  came  out  of  the  tile 


WATERING   COWS    IN    WINTER.  §3 

before  it  was  cooled  by  running  in  the  open 
ditch.  The  cow  can  talk  to  the  thinking  dairy- 
man in  many  ways,  and  it  pays  to  listen  to  her, 
and  follow  all  her  wishes,  taking  heed  to  what 
she  tells  you  in  her  cow  language.  I  am  sure  I 
could  learn  cow  language  in  less  time  than  I 
could  learn  French,  and  it  would  pay  me  better. 

In  her  choice  of  water  it  will  not  answer  to 
judge  the  milch  cow  by  the  laboring  animal  such 
as  the  horse  and  the  ox  as  the  latter  wish  to 
reduce  the  temperature  of  the  body.  The  cold 
water  is  more  palatable  to  them  and  they  will 
have- it  if  they  can  get  it. 

We  water  the  cows  once  a  day  in  tanks  in  the 
yard  and  once  in  the  cement  mangers  in  the 
barn. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE'  FEEDING  VALUE  OF  SKIM-MILK. 

The  feeding  value  of  skim-milk  has  been  in- 
vestigated by  many  of  our  agricultural  experi- 
ment stations  and  by  some  other  reliable  au- 
thorities. The  conclusions  reached  are  all  so 
favorable  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  give  much 
space  to  a  discussion  of  the  subject  here. 

Some  Feeding  Tests  with  Pigs.— Many  years 
ago  Ex-Gov.  W.  D.  Hoard  of  Wisconsin  made 
an  experiment  feeding  sweet  skim-milk  to  pigs 
weighing  100  pounds  each  and  costing  4% 
cents  per  pound.  They  were  fed  56  days  on 
clear  skim-milk  and  then  sold.  The  growth  of 
the  pigs  during  this  time,  figured  at  4%  cents 
per  pound,  paid  22%  cents  per  100  pounds  for 
the  skim-milk  fed  to  them. 

C.  P.  Goodrich,  Ft.  Atkinson,  Wis.,  at  one 
time  fed  a  bunch  of  six  months  old  pigs  weigh- 
ing 125  pounds  each.  They  were  divided  into 
three  lots  as  nearly  equal  as  possible.  Lot  I 
was  fed  on  skim-milk  and  made  5  pounds' 
growth  from  100  pounds  of  skim-milk.  Lot  II 
was  fed  entirely  upon  corn  and  made  10  pounds' 

84 


THE   FEEDING   VALUE   OF   SKIM   MILK.  §5 

growth  from  one  bushel  of  70  pounds  of  ear 
com.  Lot  III  was  fed  skim-milk  and  corn  in 
proportion  of  one  bushel  of  com  to  100  pounds 
of  skim-milk.  This  combination  produced  18 
pounds  of  growth. 

This  illustrates  very  nicely  the  economy  of 
feeding  a  combination  of  com  and  skim-milk. 
When  the  bushel  of  corn  and  100  pounds  of 
skim-milk  were  fed  separately,  they  made  15 
pounds  of  growth;  when  fed  together  they  made 
18  pounds'  growth,  an  increase  of  20  per  cent. 

Personal  Experience  with  Skim-milk. — In  my 
early  experience  in  dairying  I  wished  to  have 
some  reliable  basis  upon  which  to  estimate  the 
value  of  skim-milk,  and  there  were  so  few  ex- 
periments available  at  that  time  that  I  felt  it 
advisable  to  do  a  little  experimenting  myself. 
I  found  that  there  is  no  food  so  good  as  skim- 
milk  to  make  muscle,  bone  and  growth  in  pigs 
when  fed  intelligently.  Many  farmers  have  a 
belief  that  they  need  to  feed  a  large  quantity  of 
skim-milk  because  it  contains  no  cream;  this  is 
a  mistake  and  in  many  cases  a  fatal  mistake, 
as  too  much  of  it  causes  scours,  which  if  not 
checked  soon  will  ruin  the  pigs. 

My  first  experiments  were  made  in  the  early 
seventies  by  feeding  skim-milk  without  other 
food  and  the  results  showed  that  with  pigs 
weighing  50  to  75  pounds  each,  I  secured  one 
pound  of  growth  from  16  pounds  of  skim-milk 


gg  -  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

which  at  4  cents  per  pound  would  make  the 
skim-milk  worth  25  cents  per  100  pounds. 

In  1878  I  made  some  experiments  to  show  at 
what  age  pigs  made  the  most  growth  from  their 
feed.  I  began  with  pigs  12  days  old,  and  of 
course  included  the  mother  they  were  nursing, 
the  sow  being  fed  corn-meal  and  wheat  bran 
with  the  skim-milk.  The  corn-meal  and  wheat 
bran  were  charged  up  at  cost  and  the  increased 
weight  of  sow  and  pigs  credited  at  4  cents  per 
pound.  On  this  basis  I  received  for  each  100 
pounds  of  skim-milk  23  4/5  cents.  When  these 
pigs  had  reached  the  weight  of  40  pounds  they 
gave  me  for  each  100  pounds  of  skim-milk  56 V2 
cents.  Still  later  when  they  had  reached  the 
weight  of  125  pounds  each  and  the  work  figured 
upon  the  same  basis  as  in  the  two  experiments 
just  stated,  charging  the  corn-meal  and  wheat 
bran  at  $14  per  ton,  and  giving  the  skim-milk 
credit  for  the  balance,  I  received  53%  cents  per 
100  pounds  for  the  skim-milk. 

As  I  had  made  many  experiments  with  pigs 
after  they  had  reached  the  weight  which  these 
had,  I  carried  the  lot  no  farther. 

I  have  used  the  work  of  Hoard,  Goodrich  and 
myself  to  show  that  it  is  practical  for  an  intelli- 
gent farmer  to  do  some  work  in  experimental 
lines.  When  this  work  was  done  I  lived  on  my 
farai  and  milked  the  cows,  made  the  butter  and 
fed  the  calves  and  pigs  myself. 


THE   FEEDING   VALUE   OF   SKIM   MILK.  87 

Experiment  Station  Work. — Tlie  Wisconsin 
report  of  1888,  page  92,  gives  record  of  experi- 
mental work  that,  figured  on  the  basis  of  my 
work,  shows  equally  good  results.  I  summarize 
it :  Corn-meal  at  $16  per  ton  and  pork  at  4  cents 
per  pound  live  weight ;  the  growth  after  paying 
for  corn-meal  paid  58  cents  per  100  pounds  for 
skim-milk.  Prof.  Henr\"  said  after  closing  some 
experiments  showing  the  actual  quantities  of 
corn-meal  and  skim-milk  it  is  most  profitable  to 
feed,  that  to  produce  pork  rapidly  a  large  pro- 
portion of  corn-meal  to  skim-milk  may  be  fed, 
but  that  such  feeding  is  not  the  most  economical 
when  the  cost  of  production  is  considered,  and 
that  from  one  pound  to  one  and  a  half  pounds  of 
skim-milk  to  one  of  corn-meal  is  asanuch  as  can 
be  profitably  fed  when  skinvmilk  is  valued  at  20 
per  cent  to  25  per  cent  per  100  pounds  and  corn- 
meal  at  75  cents  per  100  pounds. 

To  show  the  comparative  profit  of  feeding 
growing  hogs  with  those  that  have  reached  a 
heavy  weight,  I  quote  from  the  Wisconsin  report 
of  1889,  where  hogs  weighing  400  pounds  each 
gave  a  return  for  skim-milk  of  11  cents  per  100 
pounds,  and  hogs  weighing  125  pounds  gave  a 
return  of  25  cents  per  100  pounds  of  skim-milk 
when  fed  with  corn-meal  in  proportions  of  5  to  6 
pounds  of  skim-milk  to  one  of  corn-meal.  These 
figures  illustrate  the  fact  that  has  been  demon- 
strated hund^reds  of  times  in  the  last  25  years, 


88  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

that  to  do  the  most  profitable  work  we  must  feed 
yomig  growing  animals. 

The  Cornell  University  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Station  Bulletin  199,  in  the  summary  of 
several  years'  work  on  separator  skim-milk  as 
food  for  pigs,  says  that  in  1897  one  pound  in- 
crease in  live  weight  was  made  from  1.7  pounds 
of  corn-meal  and  4.8  pounds  of  skim-milk.  In 
1898  the  most  economical  gain  was  made  with 
corn-meal  and  skim-milk  when  the  proportion 
by  weight  of  corn-meal  and  skim-milk  was  one 
to  three.  The  most  economic  gains  were  made 
in  1899  when  corn-meal  and  skim-milk  were  fed 
in  the  proportion  of  one  pound  of  corn-meal  to 
6.7  of  skim-milk. 

Skim-Milk  for  Calves. — We  have  a  right  to 
suppose  that  the  dairyman  is  to  feed  his  skim- 
milk  to  heifer  calves  sired  from  his  best  cows  by 
Si  well  selected  bull  of  some  dairy  breed,  as  he 
cannot  afford  to  feed  it  to  ' '  dairy  steers. ' '  If  he 
wishes  to  feed  it  to  steers  let  it  be  to  some  beef 
breed  steers. 

If  the  dairym.an  will  feed  his  skim-milk  to 
heifer  calves  thus  bred,  remembering  that  the 
bull  is  more  than  half  the  herd  for  the  reason 
that  the  heifer  calves  are  more  likely  to  ^'take 
after"  the  sire  than  the  dam,  he  will  secure  bet- 
ter returns  than  in  feeding  it  to  pigs  to  sell  for 
pork.  With  the  heifer  calf  he  is  growing  an 
animal  from  which  he  will  probably  get  many 


THE   FEEDING   VALUE   OF   SKIM   MILK.  89 

years'  profitable  work.  An  animal  that  will 
make  him  from  300  to  450  pounds  of  butter  an- 
nually and  show  a  profit  of  $25  to  $60  per  year 
after  paying  for  feed  and  labor  is  worth  having. 
Do  not  say  this  cannot  be  done  for  it  is  being 
done. 

Calves  Better  to  Feed  than  Pigs. — The  calf 
probably  will  not  make  as  much  growth  from 
the  same  food  as  the  pig,  but  when  one  must 
choose  between  a  pig  to  sell  or  a  heifer  calf  to 
raise  for  the  dairj^,  feed  the  skim-milk  to  the 
calf  by  all  means. 

Methods  of  Feeding  Calves. — The  calf  should 
be  allowed  to  take  the  first  milk  from  its  dam  as 
nature  requires  this  and  if  her  rules  are  violated 
there  will  surely  be  trouble.  After  the  calf  has 
once  nursed,  it  should  be  removed  from  its 
mother  but  fed  its  mother 's  milk  for  a  few  days, 
depending  on  the  vigor  of  the  calf.  Commence 
to  add  skim-milk  after  a  week  or  ten  days,  ad- 
ding a  small  amount  at  first  and  increasing  it 
daily  until  the  calf  is  on  an  entire  skim-milk 
diet. 

There  are  a  few  simple  rules  to  follow  in 
growing  calves  on  skim-milk.  The  milk  must  be 
sweet;  it  must  be  as  warm  as  the  mother's  milk 
and  care  must  be  exercised  not  to  feed  too  much 
of  it.  There  are  many  more  calves  injured  by 
being  fed  too  much  skim-milk  than  there  are  by 
not  having  enough  of  it.    Four  quarts  at  a  feed 


90  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

twice  per  day  is  sufficient  for  the  average-sized 
calf  for  the  first  month.  Add  a  spoonful  of 
ground  flax  seed  to  each  feed  and  teach  the  calf 
to  eat  a  little  corn-meal  as  soon  as  possible.  Corn 
is  the  most  economical  food  to  balance  a  ration 
containing  so  much  skim-milk.  Feed  shelled 
corn  as  soon  as  the  young  calf  will  digest  it  well. 

Never  feed  a  young  calf  cold  milk;  better  take 
an  ax  and  knock  it  on  the  head.  Oalves  must 
be  watched  and  when  they  show  a  tendency  to 
looseness  of  the  bowels,  feed  less  milk  and  if 
this  does  not  remedy  the  trouble,  heat  some 
skim-milk  to  boiling  and  when  it  is  cooled  to  a 
proper  temperature,  feed  this  to  the  calf.  If 
taken  in  time  this  will  check  the  scours  caused 
by  over-feeding. 

Calves  must  have  a  warm  dry  nest^and  it  re- 
quires much  bedding  to  keep  them  dry.  This 
causes  the  calf  to  thrive  and  it  saves  the  liquid 
manure.  I  prefer  fall  calves  to  raise  as  they  can 
be  taken  care  of  the  first  winter  and  when  they 
go  to  grass  in  the  spring  they  will  be  able  to 
take  care  of  themselves,  if  they  have  good  pas- 
ture. 

Experimental  Work  in  Calf  Feeding. — The 
Indiana  Ebi:periment  Station  in  Bulletin  No.  47 
gives  a  record  of  work  to  show  the  relative  cost 
of  calves  grown  on  skim-milk  and  on  whole 
milk.  The  skim-milk  calves  cost  less  than  4 
cents  per  pound  and  the  whole  milk  calves  cost 


THE   FEEDING   VALUE   OF   SKIM  MILE.  91 

10  cents  per  pound  and  the  calves  fed  skim-milk 
make  as  good  growth  as  the  ones  fed  whole 
milk. 

Feeding  in  Stanchions. — At  Clover  Farm  we 
put  the  calves  in  stanchions  when  they  are  to  be 
fed  milk.  By  so  doing  we  can  feed  each  calf 
from  a  pail  just  as  much  milk  as  we  wish  it  to 
have  and  after  it  has  had  its  milk,  feed  it  some 
grain  food  or  hay  to  cause  it  to  forget  its  desire 
to  suck,  after  which  it  may  be  loosened  from  its 
stanchion. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

BUILDING  THE  SILO. 

For  many  years  before  I  built  a  silo  I  had 
studied  the  subject  and  was  impressed  with  the 
value  of  silage  as  a  feed  for  dairy  cows,  but  at 
that  time  the  only  ones  I  could  learn  of  were 
built  of  concrete  or  some  form  of  masonry, 
which  made  the  cost  so  great  that  I  did  not  feel 
like  undertaking  the  work.  However  after  a  few 
years  I  reached  the  conclusion  that  I  could  not 
afford  to  get  along  without  one,  and  as  at  that 
time  many  were  being  built  of  wood  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  I  decided  to  build  one  of 
this  kind. 

Rectan^lar  Wooden  Silo. — It  was  built  rec- 
tangular in  form  and  twenty-two  feet  deep,  of 
ten  inch  studding,  sheeted  inside  with  a  high 
grade  of  white  pine  flooring  thoroughly  sea- 
soned, and  sided  outside  like  a  house.  A  few 
years  later  I  built  a  larger  one  in  three  com- 
partments, which  I  first  sheeted  inside  with 
common  surfaced  lumber  on  which  I  put  tarred 
paper  and  on  this  six-inch  white  pine  flooring. 
With  this  double    sheeting    I    had    the    same 

92 


BUILDING   THE   SILO.  93 

trouble  that  many  others  have  had,  from  the 
moisture  getting  between  the  two  sheetings,  sat- 
urating the  paper  and  thus  holding  the  moist- 
ure to  such  an  extent  that  it  started  decay  and 
resulted  in  the  walls  becoming  useless  in  a  few 
years.  I  used  paper  on  the  walls  three  years  as 
we  filled  the  silos.  This  was  done  for  the  pur- 
pose of  helping  to  make  the  walls  air  tight;  but 
at  the  end  of  ten  years  I  was  compelled  to  tear 
out  the  partitions  and  put  in  circular  cemented 
silos  in  place  of  the  square  wooden  ones. 

If  I  were  to  build  more  wooden  silos  I  would 
not  make  any  double  wooden  walls  on  the  inside 
next  to  the  silage,  for  the  moisture  will  get 
through  the  joints  and  fail  to  dry  out,  and  will 
surely  cause  decay  in  a  few  years.  If  one  thinks 
he  must  use  lumber  in  some  form  on  the  inside 
let  it  be  of  a  good  sound  quality  (sound  knots 
are  no  objection)  thoroughly  dried  and  not 
wider  than  four  inches.  Three  inches  in  width 
is  better,  as  in  case  of  shrinkage  there  is  less 
danger  of  the  joints  opening  and  letting  the  air 
come  through  the  walls. 

The  Cemented  Silo. — My  first  experience  with 
the  cemented  silo  was  ten  years  ago,  when  I 
built  three.  These  proved  so  satisfactory^  that 
I  shall  build  no  other  kind  hereafter,  at  least 
until  it  is  demonstrated  that  there  is  something 
better  than  the  wooden  cemented  silo.  When  I 
devised  this  style  of  silo  I  did  not  know  that  any 


94  "THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

had  been  built  on  this  plan,  but  leaTned  through 
the  Wisconsin  agricultural  college  that  such 
silos  had  been  in  use  in  that  state  for  several 
years  and  had  proved  a  success.  This  relieved 
my  mind  very  much  as  it  removed  the  experi- 
mental feature  of  the  work  to  a  great  extent. 

Of  course  no  one  will  build  anything  but  cir- 
cular silos  any  more,  let  the  material  be  what  it 
may,  as  a  circular  forni  gives  the  greatest  con- 
tents for  the  material  used  and  the  greatest  re- 
sistance for  the  amount  of  lumber  used.  There 
are  now  on  my  farm  six  cemented  round  silos 
that  will  contain  1,750  tons,  and  after  ten  years' 
experience  with  them  I  would  not  build  any 
other  kind  in  my  locality.  There  are  places 
where  it  may  be  economy  to  build  all  concrete 
walls.  I  cannot  say  as  to  that  point,  as  the  local 
conditions  have  much  to  do  with  the  economy 
of  it. 

My  first  cement  lined  silos  were  built  twenty 
feet  in  diameter  and  thirty-eight  feet  deep.  A 
year  after  I  built  one  thirty-eight  feet  in  diame- 
ter and  twenty-four  feet  deep.  This  I  found  too 
large,  as  I  had'to  feed  about  200  head  of  cattle 
from  it  to  keep  ahead  of  decay.  It  is  also  more 
labor  to  distribute  the  contents  when  filling  and 
more  labor  to  remove  the  feed  when  taking  it 
out  to  feed  the  cows. 

Relation  between  Size  and  Cost. — The  great- 
er the  diameter  of  the  silo  the  less  the  cost  per 


SILO  OF  SOLID  CONCRETE  WALLS 


BUILDING   THE   SILO.  95 

ton  of  contents  of  the  silo  to  build  it.  To  illus- 
trate: a  silo  ten  feet  in  diameter  is  about  31% 
feet  in  circumference  and  has  an  area  of  75 
square  feet,  while  one  twenty  feet  in  diameter  is 
nearly  sixty-three  feet  in  circumference  and  has 
an  area  of  300  square  feet.  It  will  cost  half  as 
much  in  material  and  labor  to  build  one  ten  feet 
in  diameter  as  one  twenty  feet  in  diameter  and 
one  twenty  feet  in  diameter  will  contain  four 
times  as  much  as  one  ten  feet  in  diameter. 
Twenty  feet  in  diameter  is  a  desirable  size  to 
build,  and  I  would  not  build  larger  than  twenty- 
five  feet  in  diameter.  As  to  depth  I  have  not 
learned  that  there  is  any  danger  of  getting  them 
too  deep.  I  certainly  have  found  no  objection 
to  a  depth  of  thirty-eight  feet. 

Amount  of  Exposed  Surface  per  Cow. — One 
point  about  the  matter  of  diameter  that  must  not 
be  forgotten  is  that  it  must  not  be  too  large  for 
the  number  of  cattle  to  be  fed  from  it.  Eight 
-surface  feet  per  cow  to  be  fed  is  the  danger 
limit,  and  six  feet  is  safer.  To  explain:  a  silo 
that  is  twenty  feet  in  diameter  has  300  surface 
feet  of  area  and  when  we  apply  the  rule  of  six 
surface  feet  per  cow  we  find  that  we  can  feed 
safely  fifty  cows  from  it  and  keep  ahead  of  de- 
cay. When  we  apply  the  rule  of  eight  surface 
feet  we  can  feed  as  few  as  forty  cows  from  a 
twenty  foot  silo.  Tliis  may  be  done  safely  when 
care  is  exercised  in  keeping  the    surface    feed 


gg  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

down  level,  taking  off  a  layer  of  snch  thickness 
that  we  can  go  over  the  surface  once  in  two 
days.  Do  not  allow  any  holes  to  be  dug  in  the 
surface  unless  it  be  to  get  down  to  a  door  to 
throw  out  the  feed.  Eemember  that  you  are 
handling  canned  feed,  and  the  same  care  must 
be  taken  as  the  women  use  in  handling  canned 
fruit.  In  both  cases  too  long  an  exposure  to  the 
air  is  harmful. 

Repairing  Cracks  in  Cement. — I  have  had 
very  little  trouble  with  the  cement  cracking, 
and  when  it  does  we  put  on  a  wash  of  cement, 
making  it  as  thick  as  will  spread  well  with  a 
brush  the  same  as  would  be  used  on  a  cracked 
cistern  and  it  makes  the  walls  perfect  again. 
This  costs  but  little,  and  it  is  a  good  idea  to  do 
it  every  season,  though  I  have  not  done  so  in  the 
past,  as  I  did  not  find  it  necessary.  .This  wash 
can  be  put  on  best  as  the  silo  is  being  filled, 
using  the  silage  as  a  platform  to  stand  on. 

Drain  for  Silo. — Wherever  you  build,  do  not 
go  into  the  ground  below  where  you  can  secure 
drainage  to  carry  off  the  water,  as  it  must  not 
be  allowed  to  collect  in  the  silo.  There  should 
be  a  tile  outside  and  a  little  lower  than  the 
foundation  to  catch  and  carry  away  all  water 
that  would  get  into  the  silo. 

Details  of  Silo. — The  foundation  for  the  silo 
may  be  of  stone,  brick  or  concrete,  and  should 
extend  above  the  ground  to  a  sufficient  height  to 


BUILDING   THE    SILO.  97 

protect  the  lumber  from  the  moisture  of  the 
ground.  There  is  no  necessity  of  a  sill,  as  the 
studding  may  be  set  on  the  foundation  and  held 
in  position  by  the  inside  sheeting  being  nailed 
to  it  to  hold  the  bottom  of  the  studs  in  place.  I 
put  the  studding  twelve  inches  apart,  which  I 
believe  is  nearer  than  necessar^^  as  all  the  stud- 
ding does  is  to  hold  the  lumber  together,  the 
sheeting  bearing  all  the  lateral  pressure  before 
the  silo  can  possibly  give  away.  Any  lumber 
that  you  can  spring  to  the  circle  may  be  used  for 
the  inside  sheeting,  though  it  needs  to  be  sur- 
faced to  bring  it  to  a  uniform  thickness,  as  we 
put  on  this  surface  a  lath  that  is  made  beveled. 
This  is  done  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  dove- 
tailed joint  to  hold  the  cement.  For  this 
inside  sheeting  and  also  for  the  lath  I  used  six 
inch  fencing,  having  it  resawed  making  it  about 
%  inch  thick.  I  had  the  lath  sawed  out  of  this 
same  lumber  at  the  mill  where  the  lumber  was 
resawed.  A  carpenter  that  has  a  supply  of 
gumption  can  help  one  out  with  many  ideas  in 
the  building  of  a  round  silo. 

The  outside  sheeting  may  be  of  the  same  ma- 
terial as  is  used  for  the  inside  sheeting,  or 
wooden  hoops  may  be  put  on  the  studding  and 
the  outside  sheeting  may  be  put  on  pei^iendicu- 
lar,  and  nailed  to  these  hoops.  Sheeting  sprung 
to  the  outside  of  a  circle  is  prone  not  to  stay  in 
place,  as  in  its  effort  to  straighten  it  may  get 


98  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

away,  but  on  the  inside  this  tendency  to 
straighten  helps  to  hold  it  in  place.  My  experi- 
ence teaches  me  that  the  most  satisfactory  way 
to  sheet  the  outside  is  to  put  on  the  hoops  and 
put  the  sheeting  up  and  down,  nailing  it  to  the 
hoops  which  should  be  of  one  inch  hard  wood. 

Kind  and  Amount  of  Cement. — For  the  ce- 
ment work  use  none  but  the  best  Portland  ce- 
ment that  you  can  buy.  Use  one  part  cement 
and  two  parts  of  clean  sand.  Be  sure  there  is  no 
loam  or  clay  in  the  sand,  as  it  will  certainly 
cause  trouble.  The  cement  should  have  a  thick- 
ness of  i/o  to  %  of  an  inch. 

Silo  Roof. — It  matters  little  whether  there  is  a 
roof  on  the  silo  or  not.  It  is  much  in  the  way 
when  we  are  filling,  and  I  have  failed  to  learn 
of  any  good  it  has  done  except  to  prevent  hav- 
ing to  throw  off  the  snow  after  a  storm  when  we 
were  feeding  from  it.  The  water  does  no  harm : 
in  fact  it  is  often  an  advantage  to  have  the 
water  when  we  are  done  filling  to  give  weight 
to  cause  the  silage  to  settle  and  pack  properly. 
I  have  one  without  a  roof,  and  think  that  I 
should  not  put  on  a  roof  if  I  were  to  build  more. 

Cost  of  Silo.— The  silo  that  I  put  no  roof  on 
cost  me  12%  cents  per  square  foot  of  surface. 
To  illustrate:  a  silo  twenty  feet  in  diameter  is 
sixty-three  feet  in  circumference  and  if  thirty- 
eight  feet  deep  it  has  2,400  surface  feet,  which 
at  12%  cents  per  square  foot  would  cost  $300 


BUILDING   THE    SILO.  99 

and  it  would  contaiii  250  tons  of  silage.  Some 
would  estimate  it  to  hold  300  tons.  My  silos  all 
have  clay  floors,  and  the  silage  keeps  as  well  on 
these  as  it  does  on  cement.  If  you  need  to  keep 
out  the  rats  cement  the  bottom. 

I  have  in  one  x)lace  three  silos  in  a  row  which 
are  all  inclosed  under  one  roof  or  building  put 
up  the  same  as  a  baiTi  frame.  Tliese  are  all  filled 
at  one  setting  of  the  machine,  having  a  horizon- 
tal carrier  onto  which  the  elevator  drops  the 
feed  and  it  is  carried  and  dropped  into  either 
one  of  the  three  silos.  In  building  these  three 
silos,  which  were  not  sheeted  outside,  I  was  not 
certain  that  I  had  sufficient  resistance  to  the  lat- 
eral pressure  in  the  inside  sheeting,  the  lath, 
ajid  the  cement.  I  had  some  figuring  done  to 
learn  how  I  would  secure  additional  resistance 
on  the  outside  for  the  least  cost,  and  was  sur- 
prised to  find  resistance  to  lateral  pressure  to  be 
cheaper  in  the  form  of  wood  hoops  than  any 
form  of  iron. . 

Silo  Doors. — The  openings  for  taking  out  the 
silage  may  be  put  as  pleases  one,  but  should  not 
occupy  more  than  one  third  of  the  perpendicu- 
lar space  of  the  silo.  The  doors  should  be  made 
of  two  thicknesses  of  matched  lumber,  the  in- 
side thickness  being  one  inch  larger  all  round 
than  the  outside  thickness  and  the  door  frames 
made  to  correspond,  and  thus  give  a  better  ex- 
clusion of  the  air.  The  best  way  to  seal  the  doors 


100  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

is  to  use  cement,  filling  all  cracks  around  tliem. 

Advantages  of  Round  Silo. — With  my  old 
square  silos  I  found  it  practically  impossible  to 
prevent  loss  in  the  corners  from  mouldy  and  de- 
cayed silage,  and  when  the  silo  had  Teached  a 
few  years  of  age  there  would  be  considerable 
loss  next  to  the  walls  all  around  the  silo,  which 
was  caused  by  the  air  coming  through  the  im- 
perfect walls.  With  my  round  cemented  silos  I 
lia,ve  no  loss  anywhere  when  we  do  our  work 
well,  as  the  silage  is  sound  where  it  comes  in 
contact  with  the  cement  walls. 

Some  of  the  writers  who  are  recomrnending 
the  cheapest  silo  they  can  plan  because  it  will 
IDTCsei^e  the  silage  when  the  silo  is  new,  will 
know  more  about  the  business  after  they  have 
had  one  of  the  cheap  ones  lose  them  sufficient 
silage  to  pay  for  a  good  one. 

I  have  now  emptied  some  of  my  cemented 
silos  for  the  tenth  time  and  there  is  very  little 
indication  of  any  corrosion  of  the  cement  by  the 
acid  of  the  silage.  With  ten  years '  experience  I 
am  convinced  that  the  round  wooden  cemented 
silo  is  the  most  economical  to  build,  taking  into 
consideration  the  best  preservation  of  the  silage 
and  the  durability  of  the  silo.  The  cement  not 
only  keeps  the  air  from  the  silage  but  it  also 
keeps  the  moisture  of  the  silage  from  the  wood 
and  prevents  its  decay. 

Location  of  Silo.— The  location  of  the  silo  is 


BUILDING   THE   SILO.  101 

largely  a  matter  of  convenience.  It  should  not 
open  directly  into  the  cow  stable,  as  the  odor  of 
the  silage  must  not  be  in  the  stable  at  milking 
time  to  be  absorbed  by  the  milk;  remember 
the  odor  of  silage  does  not  go  through  the  cow 
into  the  milk,  but  is  absoi^bed  by  the  milk  direct. 
The  silo  may  be  built  near  the  barn  where  it  will 
be  convenient  to  the  feed  alley,  leaving  a  space 
between  it  and  the  barn  that  may  be  inclosed 
and  used  to  hold  the  silage  for  one  day's  feed- 
ing until  you  are  ready  to  feed.  Such  a  room  is 
almost  a  necessity  as  it  takes  too  much  time  to 
go  into  the  silo-  at  feeding  time  to  throw  out 
the  silage  for  that  feed. 

Solid  Wall  Concrete  Silo.— Taking  a  1908 
view  of  silo  building  one  is  led  to  believe  that 
the  high  price  of  lumber  and  the  lower  price  of 
Portland  cement  are  going  to  induce  us  to  build 
more  and  more  the  all-concrete  silos. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


FILLING  THE  SILO. 

Tlie  most  satisfactory  variety  of  corn  for 
silage  depends  somewhat  on  the  locality  and 
on  the  views  of  the  farmer.  One  rule  applies  to 
all  varieties  and  conditions — that  is,  plant  a  va- 
riety that  will  reach  the  stage  when  the  ears  are 
between  denting  and  glazing  at  the  time  of  fill- 
ing the  silo. 

The  Field.  Crop  Variety  Safest. — ^In  localities 
where  the  large  southern  varieties  reach  this 
stage  of  maturity  they  may  be  grown,  but  in  the 
northern  border  of  the  cornbelt  the  southern  va- 
rieties will  not  reach  this  stage  and  should  not 
be  grown.  Many  prefer  the  varieties  grown  in 
their  vicinity  for  field  crops.  This  is  a  safe  thing 
to  do.  The  flint  variety  of  corn  should  be  grown 
in  latitudes  where  the  dents  will  not  reach  the 
desired  stage  of  maturity.  The  most  palatable 
silage  I  have  ever  had  was  made  from  the  flint 
variety  of  corn  planted  July  1,  in  the  latitude  of 
Chicago.  This  silage  gave  the  best  results  in 
milk  of  an}^  I  have  ever  fed,  it  having  been  put 
in  silo  in  the  stage  from  roasting  ears  to  glaz- 
ing- 

102 


FILLING   THE   SILO.  103 

Amount  of  Seed  to  Plant. — In  my  early  ex- 
perience I  iDlanted  twenty  to  thirty  quarts  of 
corn  per  acre  for  silage.  From  this  quantity  I 
changed  gradually  to  ten  quarts  per  acre  and 
then  back  to  fifteen  quarts  per  acre,  on  one  half 
bushel.  I  believe  this  will  give  as  much  grain  of 
the  com  in  the  silage  as  the  cows  require,  and  it 
is  best  to  buy  some  protein  food  to  feed  with  it. 
If  a  farmer  wishes  to  cany  all  the  stock  possible 
on  his  farm  let  him  plant  the  corn  thick,  using 
as  much  as  twenty-four  to  thirty  quarts  of  seed 
per  acre  and  buy  the  ground  feed.  I  plant  in 
rows  forty  inches  apart  with  a  double  row  corn 
planter,  always  using  the  drill  attachment. 

When  to  Cut  the  Silage. — A  few  years'  ex- 
perience convinced  me  that  I  gained  the  best 
results  from  the  cows  when  feeding  silage  made 
from  corn  put  in  the  silo  at  the  denting  to  glaz- 
ing stage  of  maturity,  my  guide  in  this  being 
the  cows  in  their  work  of  digesting  the  food.  I 
do  not  believe  it  is  best  to  have  the  corn  so  far 
matured  that  the  cows  do  not  digest  all  the 
kernel,  as  I  believe  this  is  not  only  a  loss  of  feed, 
but  it  is  putting  an  unnecessary  burden  on  the 
digestive  organs  of  the  cows.  I  do  not  believe 
one  can  afford  to  let  the  cows  that  are  making 
us  300  to  400  pounds  of  butter  annually  wear 
out  their  digestive  organs  in  trying  to  do  what 
they  cannot  do.     The  steer  that  we  expect  to 


104  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

feed  one  to  t^ro  years  is  different  in  several 
ways.  He  can  stand  this  kind  of  work  for  .iis 
short  life,  and  he  is  not  expected  to  perpetuate 
himself,  no  matter  how  good  an  individual  he 
may  be.  But  the  choice  cows  we  wish  to  keep 
to  produce  butter  and  to  perpetuate  themselves 
or  an  improvement  on  themselves.  For  that 
reason  the  cow  is  deserving  of  more  considera- 
tion than  is  the  steer,  and  the  man  who  does  not 
realize  this  will  not  be  able  to  secure  the  best 
results  from  his  cows,  either  from  the  present  or 
the  future. 

In  early  work  with  the  silo  many  cut  their 
corn  before  it  was  sufficiently  matured  to  give 
the  best  results  when  fed  to  cows  or  other  stock. 
Later  the  opposite  extreme  was  reached  by 
some,  and  the  corn  was  allowed  to  become  too 
matured  before  being  put  into  the  silo.  Some  of 
us  tried  to  induce  the  cows  to  adjust  themselves 
to  the  conditions  of  the  corn  in  which  the  chem- 
ists found  the  most  nutrition,  but  did  not  quite 
succeed  and  have  learned  to  stand  by  our  ob- 
sei-vation  of  the  cow. 

Cut  with  a  Corn  Harvester. — ^When  filling  my 
silo  I  cut  the  com  in  the  field  with  a  com  har- 
vester, binding  it  as  though  it  was  to  be  shocked. 
Enough  is  saved  in  labor  by  having  it  bound 
more  than  to  pay  for  the  twine  used  for  bind- 
ing. There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  labor  of 
handling  bound  and  loose  com  at  the  feed  cut- 


FILLING   THE   SILO.  105 

ter.  In  the  early  part  of  the  season's  work 
there  is  often  so  much  moisture  in  the  corn 
that  it  is  advisable  to  have  it  lie  in  tlie  sun  for 
a  few  hours  before  being  drawn  for  cutting,  but 
this  is  not  a  vital  point,  and  when  we  are  having 
or  are  liable  to  have  rainy  weather  I  keep  the 
hai^^ester  just  ahead  of  the  work. 

Wetting  the  Silage. — As  the  corn  becomes 
more  matured  it  is  not  advisable  to  allow  it  to 
dry  in  the  field  after  being  cut,  but  keep  this 
work  close  up  to  the  harvester.  Later  still,  when 
there  are  large  quantities  to  be  put  in,  it  may 
become  so  dry  that  it  is  advisable  to  wet  it  be- 
fore it  is  put  into  the  silo.  I  have  done  this  many 
times  with  good  results  and  never  with  any  bad 
results.  Do  not  hesitate  to  do  this  as  no  harm 
will  come  from  it.  But  harm  may  come  from 
the  lack  of  water  to  give  it  more  weight  and  to 
pa.ck  it  more  closely.  It  must  be  packed  so  as  to 
exclude  the  air  or  it  will  decay,  and  it  should 
have  weight  in  itself  to  accomplish  this.  When 
the  time  comes  that  you  are  in  doubt  as  to 
whether  you  shoiuld  use  water,  use  it.  I  have 
never  seen  harm  from  its  use.  When  the  corn  is 
frosted  before  putting  it  in  the  silo  use  water 
unless  the  corn  is  quite  green  and  the  frost  is 
light. 

Continuous  Filling  Best. — In  filling  the  silos  I 
have  so  much  to  put  in  that  we  aire  compelled  to 
work  rapidly,  but  my  experience  has  not  taught 


106  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

me  that  it  is  necessary  to  fill  rapidly  to  secure 
good  silage.  However  it  is  necessaiy  that  there 
should  not  be  periods  of  more  thaii  two  or  three 
days'  time  when  feed  is  not  put  into  the  silo. 
Tliis  is  necessary  to  prevent  some  of  the  silage 
spoiling,  as  it  becomes  very  warm  on  top,  and 
decay  will  commence  in  a  surprisingly  short 
time.  I  have  been  caught  in  this  way,  so  I  am 
talking  from  experience. 

The  Silage  Cutter  and  Blower. — I  use  a  cutter 
that  picks  the  large  pieces  fine  after  they  are 
cut.  I  have  been  terribly  annoyed  with  the 
double  oliain  elevators  and  now  use  a  single 
chain  elevator  and  have  no  trouble.  I  would  not 
put  up  a  double  chain  elevator  if  one  were  given 
to  me,  as  I  have  never  been  able  to  ]3revent  one 
side  getting  ahead  of  the  other  and  causing  a 
break  which  is  very  expensive  with  a  lot  of  help 
about.  Of  late  blowers  have  been  used  for  ele- 
vating the  silage  in  place  of  the  elevators,  and 
they  have  been  very  successful. 

Method  of  Wetting  Silage. — When  the  corn 
becomes  so  dr^^  that  it  needs  to  be  moistened 
conduct  water  to  the  feed  cutter  through  a  hose 
or  pipe  and  have  it  sprinkled  on  the  feed  as  it 
drops  from  the  cutter  on  the  elevator.  This  can 
be  done  by  having  a  perforated  pipe  made  fast 
across  the  lower  part  of  the  elevator  to  which 
the  water  hose  is  to-  be  attached.  This  plan  re- 
quires no  labor  and  but  little  care,  and  it  does 
uniform  work. 


FILLING   THE   SILO.  107 

Packing  the  Silage. — As  this  corn  is  going  in 
it  must  be  spread  evenly  and  i^acked  by 
tramping.  Especially  is  this  necessary  against 
the  outside  as  there  is  the  friction  against  the 
walls  to  overcome.  Do  not  neglect  this  part  of 
the  work.  In  a  silo  twenty  feet  in  diameter 
where  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  tons  are 
being  put  in  daily  there  should  be  three  men 
constantly  at  work  spreading  and  packing.  I 
have  used  a  movable  chute  for  an  aid  in  distrib- 
uting, and  also  a  cone  suspended  so  as  to 
distribute  the  com  in  a  circle  around  the  centre. 
These  are  an  aid  when  they  are  properly 
managed. 

Weighting  the  Top. — In  weighting  the  top  of 
the  silos  use  the  most  worthless  material  you 
have  in  the  shape  of  hay,  chaff,  straw,  weeds  or 
anything  that  you  can  cut  fine  and  thoroughly 
saturate  with  water  before  or  after  it  is  ele- 
vated, as  we  need  weight  and  water  is  the  least 
expensive  weight  which  we  can  secure.  There  is 
no  danger  of  getting  too  much  water  on  the  top. 
This  covering  on  the  top  of  the  silo  should  be 
eight  to  twelve  inches  thick  which  will  prevent 
any  loss  of  silage.  Decay  takes  place  on  top  of 
the  silo  as  deep  as  the  air  penetrates  or  to  the 
depth  at  which  the  weight  has  not  forced  the  air 
out  of  the  silage. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


USING  THE  SILAGE. 

Care  must  be  exercised  in  removing  the  sil- 
age for  feeding.  Tliis  must  be  done  systematical- 
ly, as  it  is  a  moist  feed  and  decay  commences  in 
a  very  few  days  after  it  is  exposed  to  the  air. 
For  this  reason  the  feed  must  be  taken  off  sys- 
tematically from  the  top,  taking  a  layer  off  such 
depth  as  can  be  removed  in  two  days  at  most, 
and  it  is  better  to  take  such  a  depth  as  can 
be  remove^d  daily  to'  feed  the  stock.  Do  not  al- 
low any  digging  into  the  surface  and  leave 
some  parts  longer  exposed  than  others.  There 
is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  it,  and  there  may  be 
much  lost  if  such  a  shiftless  course  is  allowed. 

Keeping  Silage  Two  Years. — I  have  many 
times  been  asked  how  long  silage  may  be  kept. 
My  answer  is  to  give  my  experience.  TVo  years 
only  have  I  carried  silage  over  to  the  following 
year.  In  that  case  at  the  time  we  were  ready  to 
fill  on  top  of  this  one-year-old  silage  we  re- 
moved all  the  decayed  silage  and  put  the  freshly 
cut  corn  on  top  of  it.  The  following  winter  when 
we  reached  this  point  in  feeding   I   was   very 

108 


USIXG   THE   SILO.  109 

much  interested  to  see  if  the  cows  would  notice 
the  difference  between  the  silage  that  was  six 
months  old  and  that  which  was  eighteen  months 
old.  I  was  at  the  farm  when  the  first  of  the  old 
silage  was  fed  to  study  the  question  of  pa.lata- 
bility  and  was  convinced  that  the  cows  did  not 
discover  that  there  was  any  change  in  their  diet. 
The  next  point  I  watched  was  the  weight  of 
milk  as  it  was  being  weighed  daily.  Here  also 
I  was  unable  to  discover  any  change.  These  re- 
sults were  no  great  sui73rise  to  me,  but  were  in- 
teresting and  instructive,  as  they  convinced  me 
that  with  a  perfect  silo  one  can  carr^^  the  con- 
tents as  long  as  it  may  be  desirable  just  as  safe- 
ly as  the  housewife  can  carry  her  canned  fruit 
from  year  to  year  until  it  is  consumed. 

To  CRTTj  silage  from  one  year  to  the  next  re- 
quires a  perfect  silo.  A  silo  that  will  permit  a 
slight  loss  on  the  sides  during  the  winter  will 
make  a  much  greater  loss  during  the  summer 
months,  and  the  only  safety  is  in  perfection,  or 
an  air-tight  wall  and  this  I  am  sure  is  best  se^ 
cured  by  a  cement  wall. 

Value  of  Silage  as  a  Feed. — After  about 
twenty-five  years'  experience  in  feeding  silage 
my  faith  in  it  is  greater  than  ever  before.  I  be- 
lieve that  it  is  more  superior  to  shocked  com 
than  canned  fruit  is  to  dried  fruit.  Silage  is 
canned  feed,  and  if  we  had  called  it  l^y  that 
name  from  the  start  I  believe  it  wquld  have 


110  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

helped  many  to  understand  the  principle  in- 
volved in  the  work.  Our  mothers,  wives,  and 
sisters  understand  canning  fruit,  and  they  know 
better  than  to  use  an  imperfect  fruit  can.  But 
we  foolish  men  many  times  think  an3i:hing  is 
good  enough  in  which  to  can  feed  for  the  cows. 
We  do  not  always  feel  good  natured  when  our 
canned  fruit  is  spoiled;  we  do  not  relish  it  be- 
cause it  is  not  palatable.  The  cow  rebels  against 
injured,  unpalatable  food  by  eating  less,  but  she 
gets  even  with  us  because  she  cannot  help  it. 
When  her  food  is  unpalatable,  causing  her  to 
eat  less,  she  has  less  to  return  to  us  after  she  has 
cared  for  herself  and  we  suffer  from  our  neglect 
or  lack  of  intelligence.  Tlie  cow  does  not  know 
which  it  is,  but  she  does  know  that  something  is 
wrong  and  cannot  prevent  showing  it  if  she 
would. 

Sound  Silage  Does  Not  Taint  Milk. — In  my 
early  experience  with  corn  silage  as  feed  for 
cows  producing  milk  for  butter-making,  I  had  a 
few  tubs  of  butter  made  from  silage-fed-milk 
and  sent  it  to  New  York  with  a  weekly  shipment 
from  one  of  my  creameries,  marking  the  tubs 
so  they  could  be  described  and  having  them 
scored  a,s  numbered,  the  scorer  knowing  noth- 
ing of  the  difference  in  feed.  In  this  case  there 
was  not  one  point  brought  out  against  the  sil- 
age. The  flavor  of  the  silage  butter  was  fully 
equal  to  the  flavor  of  the  dry  feed  butter. 


USING   THE  SILO.  HI 

^A^en  I  commenced  to  produce  certified  milk 
(pure  milk)  for  infant  feeding  in  Cliicago  I  felt 
that  I  must  learn  more  about  the  influence  of 
silage,  as  in  the  work  that  I  had  done  butter 
only  had  been  considered,  and  in  this  new  enter- 
prise the  whole  milk  was  to  be  used  as  an  article 
of  human  food,  used  for  children  whose  entire 
diet  would  consist  of  milk. 

All  the  first  winter  that  I  shipped  my  certified 
milk  to  Chicago  I  fed  no  silage  to  the  cows  that 
produced  the  milk  for  the  babies,  but  I  fed  one 
stable  of  cows  entirely  on  com  silage  as  a  coarse 
fodder  and  brought  to  my  residence  daily 
samples  of  the  milk  from  the  two  stables,  the 
bottles  being  marked  so  that  no  one  except  my- 
self could  know  one  from  the  other.  These 
samples  were  examined  at  the  breakfast  table 
by  my  wife  and  daughters  and  by  myself  several 
times  per  week  for  four  months.  As  a  rule  we 
could  tell  no  difference  between  them,  but  in- 
variably when  we  did  it  was  in  favor  of  the 
silage  milk.  This  convinced  me  that  silage  was 
the  nearest  to  a  perfect  food  for  the  dairy  cows 
that  we  have. 

Sound  silage  will  never  contaminate  the  milk 
through  the  cows,  although  the  milk  may  con- 
tract or  absorb  the  silage  odor  after  it  is  drawn 
from  the  cows  if  it  is  exposed  to  a  silage  atmos- 
phere. Tliis  should  not  be  done.  Silage  should 
not  be  left  in  the  mangers  at  milking  time,  nor 


112  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

should  it  be  where  the  odor  of  it  cannot  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  cow  stable  at  milking  time. 

Perfect  silage  (silage  put  up  in  the  proper 
stage  of  maturity)  has  very  little  odor  to  impart 
if  it  has  been  stored  in  an  up-to-date  silo  under 
careful  supervision. 

Silage  and  Fresh-cut  Corn. — There  were  so 
many  mistakes  made  in  the  early  work  with 
silos  and  silage  that  it  is  a  wonder  that  the  work 
survived,  and  the  fact  that  it  did  is  proof  that 
value  and  merit  were  back  of  it.  One  great  sur- 
prise that  is  repeated  annually  to  me  is  that 
when  I  change  from  the  cured  silage  to  the 
fresh-cut  corn  in  the  same  mechanical  condition 
the  cows  give  a  decreased  flow  of  milk.  I  know 
of  other  daiiymen  that  have  the  same  experi- 
ence. I  expected  to  find  with  this  change  of 
feed  an  increase  in  the  flow  of  milk  but  actually 
found  a  loss.  I  have  found  this  fact  and  have 
no  theory  that  fits  it. 

Another  point  in  favor  of  silage  is  the  small 
risk  of  having  it  damaged  in  harvesting,  as  we 
are  practically  independent  of  the  weatlie;^  be- 
cause we  need  have  none  damaged  in  the  pro- 
cess of  harvesting  it. 

Amount  to  Feed. — Tlie  amount  of  silage  to 
feed  depends  on  conditions — whether  we  have  it 
in  plenty  and  are  short  of  hay,  or  have  hay  in 
plentv  and  are  short  of  silage.  Whatever  these 
conditions  may  be,  the  milk  will  be  good  if  the 


USING   THE  SILO.  113 

food  is  suitable.  At  times  I  have  no  liay  for  my 
cows,  but  I  prefer  to  have  alfalfa  or  clover  hay 
to  feed  with  the  silage. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


MILKING  BY  HAND. 

I  find  it  more  difficult  to  get  men  to  do  good 
milking  than  any  otiier  work  on  the  farm.  There 
is  no  place  where  inefficient  work  does  so  much 
damage  and  there  is  no  place  where  it  is  so  dif- 
ficult to  detect  a  poor  grade  of  work.  Compara- 
tively few  dairymen  realize  the  importance  of 
securing  good  milkers — those  that  will  be  kind 
to  the  cows,  neat  about  their  work,  and  careful 
to  secure  all  the  milk. 

Kind  Treatment.— The  cow  should  be  treated 
kindly  at  all  times  and  in  all  places.  Do  not 
allow  her  to  be  brought  from  the  pasture  on  the 
run  with  the  dog  so  excited  that  she  does  not 
know  where  her  stall  is,  and  if  she  gets  into  the 
wrong  one  to  be  put  out  with  a  blow  and  cross 
words.  The  cow  pays  you  for  this  kind  of  treat- 
ment at  the  next  milking.  She  cannot  help  it  if 
she  would,  and  if  she  would  she  certainly  is  con- 
stituted differently  from  her  owner,  and  he  has 
no  right  to  expect  the  cow  to  be  his  superior. 
There  should  be  a  kindly  feeling  between  the 
cow  and  the  man  who  milks  and  cares  for  her, 

114 


CLEANSING  UDDERS  PREPARATORY  TO  MILKING 


MILKING   BY  HAND.  115 

and  the  best  results  cannot  be  secured  unless 
this  is  the  case.  When  the  cows  and  the  men 
enjoy  one  another's  company  we  may  be  sure 
that  good  work  is  being  done,  work  that  pays 
the  owner  of  the  cows  in  dollars,  and  pays  the 
man  that  is  doing  the  work  by  the  reputation 
that  he  is  making,  as  it  will  certainly  bring  him 
an  advance  in  wages. 

When  I  discover  that  my  cows  are  afraid  of 
the  men  that  are  caring  for  them  I  know  there 
is  something  xadically  wrong.  I  know  the  cows 
have  been  abused  some  time  just  as  well  as 
though  I  had  seen  it  done. 

Cleaning  and  Washing  before  Milking. — We 
are  coming  to  realize  more  and  more  the  im- 
portance of  cleanliness  about  the  cows,  the  need 
of  keeping  the  stable  clean,  and  the  cow  clean  as 
well.  The  consumers  of  milk  are  realizing  more 
and  more  that  pure  milk  has  no  unpleasant 
odor,  and  that  the  so-called  animal  odors  are 
filth  odors.  There  are  seasons  when  it  is  hard  to 
keep  the  cows  out  of  the  mud  in  the  pasture,  but 
we  must  plan  to  have  the  cow  clean  when  she  is 
milked;  and  if  we  cannot  keep  her  out  of  the 
mud  and  filth  we  must  clean  her  before  we  milk 
her.  For  many  years  I  have  practiced  having 
each  milker  wash  the  udders  of  his  cows  before 
milking  when  they  are-not  cle^n.  The  only  ob- 
jection to  this  is  that  the  manipulation  of  the 
udder  in  washing  stimulates    the    secretion   of 


116  THE  FARM  DAIRY, 

milk,  and  if  we  do  not  commence  at  that  time  to 
milk  we  do  not  secure  the  best  results  from  the 
cow,  as  we  must  work  with  nature  if  we  wish 
to  induce  her  to  do  her  best.  When  there  is  a 
herd  of  sufficient  number  it  is  best  to  have  a  man 
to  do  this  cleaning  of  the  udders  for  all  the  milk- 
ers and  do  it  just  in  advance  of  the  milking.  But 
there  are  few  herds  of  sufficient  numbers  to  war- 
rant this,  and  in  such  cases  it  is  best  to  require 
each  milker  to  have  a  pail  of  water  and  a  cloth 
with  which  to  cleanse  the  udders  before  he  com- 
mences to  milk.  This  requires  only  a  little  time 
and  it  is  necessary  if  we  are  to  have  our  milk  as 
clean  as  we  have  other  articles  of  food. 

Regularity  in  Milking. — There  is  no  place 
where  system  pays  better  than  in  caring  for  and 
milking  cows.  Each  cow  should  have  her  regu- 
lar stall  and  should  be  milked  by  the  same  milk- 
er at  regular  hours.  Women  make  the  best 
milkers  as  they  are  kinder  to  the  cows  and  real- 
ize that  the  cow  is  a  mother,  which  some  men 
apparently  fail  to  do,  or  if  they  do  they  have  lit- 
tle respect  for  motherhood.  If  I  were  a  woman 
I  would  not  marry  a  man  that  I  tnew  to  be  ugly 
to  a  cow,  for  he  is  not  to  be  trusted;  he  is  as 
much  of  a,  brute  as  the  cow  if  not  more  so. 
Never  allow  promiscuous  milking. 

Milk  Quietly  with  Dry  Hands. — The  milkers 
should  do  their  talking  before  they  begin  to 
milk  and  then  attend  strictly  to  their  milking 


MILKER  IN  WHITE  UNIFORM 


MILKING  BY  HAND.  117 

and  do  the  work  as  fast  as  they  practically  can. 
Always  milk  with  dry  hands.  Do  not  dip  your 
fingers  in  the  milk  or  allow  it  to  be  done.  A 
person  can  milk  better  with  dry  hands  as  soon 
as  he  becomes  accustomed  to  doing  so.  I  was 
taught  to  milk  with  wet  hands  but  broke  myself 
of  the  bad  habit.  Dipping  the  fingers  in  the 
milk  or  froth  is  an  uncleanly  habit. 

It  is  best  to  milk  in  the  stable  summer  and 
winter,  as  it  should  be  cleaner  there  than  in  the 
yard,  especially  if  the  milker  commences  at  the 
right  end  of  the  row,  that  is,  the  end  where 
his  back  will  be  to  the  wall  and  no  cow 
behind  him,  so  as  to  turn  out  the  cow  as  soon  as 
milked  and  not  have  her  standing  behind  him 
to  help  to  give  him  a  swat  and  perhaps  kick 
him  in  the  back.  The  only  time  I  ever  got  hurt 
in  milking  was  by  the  cow  behind  kicking  me 
in  the  back. 

Find  the  Cause  of  a  Cow's  Kicking. — When  a 
cow  kicks,  the  first  thing  the  milker  should  do  is 
to  look  for  the  cause.  Do  not  fly  into  a  rage  and 
scold  the  cow,  but  remember  that  the  cow  must 
have  had  cause  for  kicking.  You  may  think  the 
cause  was  not  sufficient,  especially  if  she  hit  you 
where  it  hurt,  as  she  probably  did  for  cows 
have  a  faculty  of  doing  that.  AVhen  a  cow 
kicks  she  is  either  frightened  or  hurt,  and  if  she 
is.  frightened  and  kicked  you  it  is  strong  cir- 
cumstantial evidence  that  vou  have  some  time 


118  ^HE  FARM  DAIRY. 

hurt  her  and  she  is  afraid  that  you  are  going  to 
hurt  her  again,  and  she  feels  that  her  safety  de- 
pends on  her  ability  to  defend  herself.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  if  strict  justice  were  to  be  done  you 
might  need  to  be  kicked  out  of  the  stable. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  I  had  a  friend  in  the 
village  where  I  did  business  who  had  a  choice 
cow  and  he  oft^n  told  me  of  her  good  qualities, 
but  one  day  he  said  to  me  that  his  cow  had  con- 
tracted the  habit  of  kicking  and  he  could  not 
milk  her  and  would  have  to  sell  her.  I  told  him 
there  was  some  cause  for  this  change,  but  he 
could  not  think  what  it  could  be,  and  was  posi- 
tive that  it  was  pure  viciousness.  This  I  would 
not  believe,  and  told  him  to  put  a  little  linseed 
oil  on  her  teats  every  time  he  finished  milking 
her.  The  next  time  I  met  him  he  laughed  and 
said  his  cow  was  cured,  as  a  few  applications  of 
the  oil  had  remedied  the  trouble  and  showed 
him  what  it  was.  The  cause  in  this  case  was  a 
pond  of  water  in  the  pasture  in  which  the  cow 
stood  fighting  flies,  getting  her  teats  wet  and 
causing  them  to  chap,  but  not  so  deeply  that  the 
milker  discovered  it  until  the  healing  process 
had  commenced.  Then  he  discovered  the  cause 
and  was  made  happy,  as  well  as  the  cow. 

There  is  always  a  cause  for  a  cow's  kicking 
and  it  is  not  to  our  credit  not  to  be  able  to  find 
it.  In  case  you  cannot  find  and  remove  the 
cause  of  a  cow's  kicking,  the  cow  should  be 


MILKING  BY  HAND.  119 

taken  from  the  herd,  as  a  kicking  cow  is  too 
severe  a  test  on  the  milker's  patience  and  the 
disturbance  has  a  bad  effect  on  all  the  cows  and 
milkers  in  the  stable. 

Profit  from  Clean  Milking.— The  difference  in 
milkers  is  both  surprising  and  alanning.  I  am 
surprised  at  the  facts  and  alarmed  at  the  results. 
I  have  had  milkers  in  my  employ  who  would  se- 
cure from  fifteen  cows  enough  more  milk  than 
other  milkers  to  pay  their  wages.  This  may 
seem  a  large  statement,  but  it  will  surprise  no 
one  more  than  the  facts  surprised  me  when  I 
discovered  them.  I  demonstrated  this  matter 
before  I  would  believe  it  myself.  I  followed  the 
work  of  three  milkers  two  and  a  half  months  to 
convince  myself  of  the  truth  of  the  statement. 

I  test  all  my  cows  i^eriodically,  and  at  the 
same  time  I  watch  the  milkers.  This  takes  no 
extra  time,  except  in  the  matter  of  looking  up 
the  record,  as  each  milker  has  his  regular  cows 
to  milk;  and  at  the  end  of  the  season  it  can  be 
very  readily  calculated  how  each  milker  has 
made  his  cows  ^'hold  out,''  as  we  term  it,  with 
their  milk.  Tlie  following  figures  are  from  my 
books  giving  the  record  of  the  work  done  during 
one  winter : 

Milker  Xo.  1,  Dec.  17,  cows  gave  356  pounds; 
Feb.  28,  258  pounds. 

Milker  Xo.  2,  Dec.  17,  cows  gave  298  pounds; 
Feb.  28,  241  pounds. 


120  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

Milker  No.  3,  Dec.  17,  cows  gave  304  pounds; 
Feb.  28,  204  pounds. 

During  this  time  the  cows  of  milker  No.  1 
shrank  98  pounds;  milker  No.  2's  cows  shrank 
54  pounds  and  milker  No.  3  's  cows  100  pounds. 
The  shrinkage  per  cow  from  Dec.  17  to  Feb.  28 
was  for  No.  1,  7  pounds;  No.  2,  5  pounds  and  No. 
3,  9y2  pounds. 

Milking  for  Prizes. — After  studying  over  this 
milking  question  for  two  years  trying  to  devise 
some  plan  by  which  I  could  interest  my  milkers 
in  their  work,  thereby  securing  better  service,  I 
decided  to  offer  prizes.  I  had  five  milkers  and  I 
offered  three  prizes  to  be  awarded  on  the  per- 
centage of  shrinkage  for  a  term  of  months.  The 
first  prize  was  $10,  the  second  $5,  and  the  third 
$2.50.  My  milkers  were  greatly  interested  in 
this  work  during  the  whole  time  of  the  contest, 
and  the  results  showed  careful  work. 

I  had  a  plain  talk  with  my  milkers  when  the 
prize  work  commenced,  telling  them  of  the  need 
of  kindness,  care  and  regularity  of  time  in  milk- 
ing; also  the  necessity  of  securing  all  of  the 
milk.  I  told  them  that  if  at  any  time  the  totals 
of  milk  at  the  barn  and  the  creamery  did  not 
agree,  each  milker  would  be  furnished  with 
separate  cans  and  would  be  expected  to  make 
his  milk  at  the  barn  and  creamery  compare, 
and  that  if  at  any  time  I  learned  of  any  man's 
unfair  work  to  get  an  advantage  I  should  ex- 


MILKING  BY  HAND.  121 

elude  him  from_  the  competition.  I  am  now 
pleased  to  be  able  to  say, that  nothing  of  the 
kind  was  discovered. 

One  milker  who  milked  twelve  cows  had  a 
variation  of  seven  pounds  from  highest  to  low- 
est daily  weight  of  milk  during  a  week.  An- 
other milker  who  had  fourteen  cows  to  milk  had 
as  low  a  variation  as  seven  and  one-half  pounds 
in  the  daily  milk  of  his  cows  in  a  week.  My  to- 
tal milk,  which  reached  1,850  pounds  daily, 
varied  less  than  some  of  the  patrons  who  had 
250  to  300  pounds  daily.  This  was  the  result 
of  careful  systematic  work,  and  work  that  pays. 

Tlie  young  man  who  won  the  first  prize  had  a 
shrinkage  of  1.85  pounds  per  cow  in  three 
months.  The  winner  of  the  second  prize  made 
a  shrinkage  of  two  pounds  per  cow,  and  the 
third  prize  winner  made  a  shrinkage  of  2.6 
pounds  per  cow  for  the  three  months.  This  work 
when  compared  with  the  work  of  the  previous 
winter  for  the  same  months  and  under  the 
same  conditions  as  nearly  as  possible  is  interest- 
ing to  say  the  least.  Some  of  the  work  of  the 
previous  winters  was  alarming,  though  it  was 
doubtless  as  good  as  the  average  milker.  I 
have  the  record  of  one  milker  for  three  months 
in  1892  and  1893,  also  in  1893  and  1894.  In  the 
first  winter  the  percentage  of  shrinkage  for  the 
three  months  was  271/2,  and  the  following  winter 
when  competing  for  a  prize  his  shrinkage  was 


122  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

9%  per  cent  for  the  same  months.  When  not 
competing  for  a  prize  his  shrinkage  was  seven 
pounds  per  cow  in  three  months;  when  compet- 
ing it  was  2.6  pounds — a  difference  of  4.4 
pounds. 

Losses  from  Poor  Milk. — The  difference  be- 
tween the  poorest  work  of  the  winter  of  1892 
and  1893  and  the  best  work  of  1893  and  .1894 
rolls  up  in  a  way  to  frighten  me  and  make  me 
doubt  my  own  figures.  The  poorest  work  shows 
a  shrinkage  of  9%  pounds  per  cow  in  three 
months,  and  the  best  work  shows  a  shrinkage  of 
1.88  pounds  per  cow  for  the  same  length  of 
time.  This  difference  is  7.62  pounds  per  cow 
daily.  I  think  it  fair  to  suppose  that  the  aver- 
age difference  of  shrinkage  for  the  three  months 
would  be  one-half  as  much  as  it  was  at  the  end 
of  the  three  months.  This  would  be  3.81  pounds 
per  day  for  ninety  days,  or  343  pounds. 

Now  we  will  suppose  the  shrinkage  after  the 
three  months  is  the  same  in  both  cases,  and  we 
have  200  days  at  7.62  pounds,  or  1,524  pounds 
plus  343  pounds  equals  1,867  pounds  per  cow, 
and  for  fifteen  cows  28,005  pounds  of  milk, 
which  valued  at  $1  per  hundred  pounds  would 
amount  to  $280.05.  I  do  not  think  this  com- 
parison is  an  exaggeration.  I  have  supposed 
that  the  shrinkage  in  both  cases  was  alike  after 
the  three  months,  which  is  not  fair  to  the  best 
milker,  as  it  is  more  than    probable  that  the 


MILKING   BY  HAND.  123 

shrinkage  of  the  poor  milker  kept  on  increas- 
ing over  the  good  milkei*  and  that  his  cows  were 
dried  a  month  earlier  than  were  the  cows  of  the 
good  milker. 

There  are  milkers  that  cannot  do  good  milk- 
ing when  they  try  their  best,  but  there  are  many 
more  that  do  not  try.  Just  as  it  is  in  all  lines 
of  work  and  business,  some  can  see  their  op- 
portunities and  imiTrove  them,  others  see  them 
but  have  not  the  energy  and  perseverance  to 
improve  them,  while  a  few  both  see  and  act  on 
the  opportunities  and  get  to  the  front.  Tlie 
other  men  say  they  are  lucky,  and  I  think  that 
is  true,  as  they  were  lucky  in  being  well  born, 
in  inheriting  traits  that  enable  them  to  see  op- 
portunities and  prove  themselves  victors. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


MILKING  BY  MACHINEEY. 

After  waiting  for  thirty  years  for  a  practical 
milking  machine  and  reaching  the  conclusion 
that  we  should  never  ha,ve  one,  I  was  agreeably 
surprised  to  be  informed  that  cows  were  being 
successfully  milked  by  machinery.  An  investi- 
gation convinced  me  that  this  was  a  fact  and  I 
ordered  six  machines  which  were  installed  Dec. 
6,  1905,  and  proved  so  satisfactory  after  six 
months'  use  that  I  ordered  seven  more. 

Operation  of  the  Machine. — The  work  of  the 
machine  was  watched  with  care  and  intense  in- 
terest, as  it  meant  so  much  to  me  if  I  could  get 
good  results  from  it.  One  of  our  first  surprises 
was  to  learn  that  the  cows  that  kicked  when 
milked  by  hand  did  not  kick  when  milked  'by 
the  machine.  Hand  milking  hurts  a  sore  teat 
and  the  machine  does  not.  Some  cows'  teats 
are  not  sore  but  are  tender  and  cause  the  cows 
to  kick  when  being  milked.  These  cows  take 
kindly  to  the  machines.  Heifers  with  their  first 
calves  accept  the  machine  much  more  readily 
than  they  do  hand  milking.  These  points  were 
brought  out  early  in  my  experience  and  con- 

124 


MILKING  BY   MACHINERY.  125 

vineed  me  that  the  cow,  when  she  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  machine,  would  accept  it  as  a 
friend.  We  made  some  mistakes  accidentally 
and  some  were  made  purposely  by  men.  who 
wished  to  prove  the  machine  a  failure  that  their 
predictions  might  become  true. 

Comparison  of  Results. — We  had  some  cows 
milked  by  hand  to  compare  the  shrinkage  in 
flow  with  those  milked  by  machine  as  the  cows 
passed  along  in  their  periods  of  lactation,  A 
few  months'  work  revealed  that  the  machine- 
milked  cows  made  a  smaller  percentage  shrink- 
age than  did  the  hand-milked  cows.  We  also 
watched  the  cows  when  they  freshened  after  one 
milking  period  by  the  machine  and  by  hand 
and  found  a  larger  percentage  of  damaged 
udders  among  the  hand-milked  cows. 

The  machines  attracted  visitors  to  the  farm  to 
such  an  extent  that  I  was  compelled  to  prohibit 
company  in  the  stables  at  milking  time.  I  had 
learned  that  visitors  were  a  cause  of  shrinkage 
in  milk  flow  when  the  cows  were  milked  by 
hand  and  belreved  the  result  would  be  the  same 
when  the  machines  were  used,  but  waited  for 
proof  of  it  before  putting  prohibition  into  ef- 
fect and  was  finally  compelled  to  make  the  order. 

I  was  at  this  time  producing  certified  milk 
and  was  very  anxious  to  learn  the  comparative 
numbers  of  bacteria  in  our  hand-drawn  milk 
and  machine-drawn  milk.    I  paid  $150  for  bac- 


126  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

teriological  work  to  demonstrate  the  point  and 
learned  that  by  the  use  of  the  machine  we  re- 
duced the  bacteria  more  than  one-half  the  num- 
ber w.e  had  when  doing  our  best  at  hand-milk- 
ing. We  find  it  entirely  practical  to  keep  the 
machine  in  a  sanitary  condition.  There  are  full 
directions  with  the  machines  for  their  care  and 
if  they  are  followed  there  will  be  no  trouble  as 
to  their  sanitar^^  condition.  When  the  machine- 
drawn  milk  contains  more  bacteria  than  the 
hand-drawn  milk,  it  is  strong  evidence  that 
there  is  neglect  in  caring  for  or  in  operating 
the  machines.  It  is  conclusive  evidence  of  care- 
lessness somewhere. 

Intelligence  Required  in  Operator. — Some  per- 
sons will  not  succeed  with  the  milking  machine 
and  I  do  not  know  of  any  kind  of  machinery 
with  which  every  operator  becomes  an  expert. 
I  have  paid  high  for  the  knowledge  that  many 
hand-milkers  are  utter  failures,  while  many 
more  are  only  fairly  good  milkers,  and'  a  very 
small  percentage  are  expert*.  The  expert  ma- 
chine-milker will  do  as  good  work  as  the  expert 
hand-milker  and  will  cut  the  expense  of  milking 
in  half  at  least.  In  a  few  years  we  will  have  a 
supply  of  efficient  machine-milkers  without 
doubt  and  they  will  command  better  pay  than 
the  average  farm  hands,  as  they  will  be  worth 
more. 

Hall  &  Hall,  Aurora,  111.,  have  in  use  milking 


MILKING   BY   MACHINERY.  127 

stalls,  the  cows  coming  to  the  machines  in  stalls 
to  be  milked.  They  use  two  machines  and  Mr. 
Hall  has  milked  30  cows  in  an.  hour  with 
the  two  machines.  I  am  much  pleased  with 
this  plan  of  operating  the  machines. 

The  Burreli-Lawrence-Kennedy  milking  ma- 
chine is  a  very  close  imitation  of  the  sucking 
calf  in  its  action  and  is  very  pleasant  to  the 
eow  when  handled  intelligently;  but  it  will  not 
go  alone;   it  is  not  fool-proof. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


HANDLING  THE  MILK. 

As  soon  as  the  cow  is  milked,  strain  the  milk 
through  a  wire  strainer  into  a  can  which  is  to 
be  used  to  convey  the  milk  to  the  milk-house 
or  the  room  where  it  is  to  be  set  to  raise  the 
ci-eam  or  put  through  the  separator  to  separate 
the  cream  from  the  milk.  There  it  should  be 
strained  through  a  cloth  strainer. 

Flannel  Strainers. — When  I  made  b-utter  at 
my  farm  I  used  woolen  strainers  for  this  pur- 
pose. They  do  thorough  work  but  requiTe  con- 
siderable care  to  prevent  them  thickening  or 
fulling  so  the  milk  will  not  run  through  them. 
Cotton  strainers  will  do  more  thorough  work 
than  a  wire  strainer,  and  I  prefer  them  in  a 
milk  room.  When  the  shallow-pan  system  is 
used  the  milk  should  be  set  as  soon  as  is  prac- 
ticable after  it  is  strained,  as  the  cream  raises 
the  fastest  while  the  milk  is  cooling  and  the 
sooner  set  after  milking  the  more  benefit  we  get 
from  the  cooling  process. 

Pure  Air. — Care  must  be  exercised  to  secure 
pure  air  in  the  milk  room  as  the  milk  quickly 
absorbs  odors  from  the  surrounding  atmosphere. 

128 


HANDLING   THE   MILE.  129 

I  have  known  milk  to  absorb  odors  from  tlie 
hog  pen  which  were  detected  when  the  milk 
was  delivered  at  the  creamer}^ 

Temperature  of  Room. — The  temperature  of 
the  room  in  which  the  milk  is  set  should  be  60 
to  65  deg.  so  that  the  milk  shall  be  sour  but  not 
thickened,  except  at  the  bottom  of  the  pans, 
when  it  is  to  be  skimmed.  I  believe  the  most 
thorough  creaming  is  secured  when  the  milk 
sets  36  hours  to  reach  this  i>roper  stage  for 
skimming.  I  have  sometimes  in  the  winter  time 
allowed  it  to  set  48  hours  and  warmed  the  milk 
at  the  end  of  12  hours  and  warmed  it  the  second 
time  at  the  end  of  twenty-four  hours. 

Repeated  Cooling  Gives  Thorough  Creaming. 
— In  this  way  we  repeat  the  cooling  process  and 
secure  very  thorough  creaming — the  most  per- 
fect of  any  plan  except  the  centrifugal  separa- 
tor. I  used  large  shallow  pans,  holding  500 
lbs.  of  milk,  and  these  pans  were  surrounded 
by  a  water  pan  for  heating  and  cooling  the  milk. 
This  plan  of  heating  and  cooling  gave  the  rich- 
est cream  I  have  ever  seen.  I  practiced  cutting 
the  cream  into  squares  with  a  knife,  and  picked 
them  up  with  a  tin  ladle,  as  pancakes  would  be 
taken  up.  I  remember  some  instances  when  it 
would  not  pour  out  of  a  can  8  inches  in  diameter 
when  I  put  it  into  the  churn.  Such  cream  can- 
not be  churned  until  reduced  with  skim-milk. 

The  advantage  that  comes  from  such  a  qual- 


130  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

ity  of  cream  is  the  thorougli  creaming  that  is 
secured.  I  have  not  found  it  practicable  to 
treat  the  milk  this  way  in  the  summer  months. 
Such  cream  as  this  is  ripe  and  ready  to  chum 
when  taken  from  the  milk,  but  it  can  be  held 
two  or  three  days  with  safety  if  kept  at  a  low 
temperature.  It  contains  but  a  small  per  cent 
of  milk,  and  for  that  reason  does  not  sour  or 
ripen  so  fast  as  cream  that  has  a  larger  per  cent 
of  milk  in  it. 

When  milk  is  set  in  small  shallow  pans  it  can 
be  treated  to  this  heating  and  cooling  process 
by  placing  the  pans  in  a  vessel  of  hot  water  or 
over  boiling  water  and  heat  with  steam.  When 
this  is  practiced  the  temperature  of  the  milk 
room  must  be  held  down  as  low  as  40  deg.  Fah., 
if  possible,  or  the  milk  will  sour  too  soon.  My 
practice  was  to  open  the  windows  and  get  the 
temperature  down  near  the  freezing  point  until 
the  milk  was  cooled. 

-Do  not  skim  the  milk  until  it  is  ready  to  be 
skimmed.  The  cream  cannot  be  taken  off  from 
shallow  pans  without  considerable  loss.  It 
'should  stand  until  the  cream  thickens  and  the 
temperature  of  the  room  should  be  such  as  to 
cause  it  to  thicken  before  it  is  old  enough  to 
suffer  in  flavor.  Observation  and  experience 
teach  a  person  about  these  matters.  It  is  also, 
important  that  the  milk  should  be  skimmed  as 
soon  as  it  is  ready;  if  not  there  is  danger  of 
loss  in  flavor. 


HANDLING   THE   MILK.  131 

Submerged  Plan. — If  the  submerged  or  deep 
cold  system  is  used  for  cream-raising  the  milk 
should  be  set  as  soon  a,s  it  is'  practicable  after 
it  is  milked  and  strained.  The  sooner  it  is  set 
and  the  cooler  the  water  it  is  set  in,  the  better 
the  results.  The  warming  and  cooling  process 
can  be  used  to  advantage  with  this  system. 
Cream  raises  fastest  while  the  milk  is  cooling, 
and  if  we  can  repeat  the  cooling  process,  we 
accomplish  more  efficient  work. 

There  is  a  variety  of  opinions  as  to  the  neces- 
sary time  for  milk  to  set  to  secure  the  best  re- 
sults by  the  deep  and  cold-setting  system.  My 
experience  is  that  a  larger  yield  of  butter  is  se- 
cured when  it  is  held  24  hours  in  ice  water  than 
when  held  12  hours,  and  if  held  in  water  at  60 
deg.  Fall,  it  is  best  to  let  it  set  36  hours  and  in 
some  cases  48  hours. 

The  breed  of  the  cows  and  period  of  lactation 
have  much  influence  on  the  cream  raising.  The 
cream  globules  are  larger  in  the  milk  of  some 
breeds  than  others,  and  this  fact  must  be  taken 
into  account  in  the  gravity  methods  of  caeam- 
raising.  The  milk  of  all  cows  creams  more 
readily  when  they  are  fresh  than  when  they  are 
advanced  in  the  period  of  lactation.  The  period 
of  lactation  has  much  influence  on  the  flavor  of 
butter.  When  the  cows  are  nearly  drv^  the  but- 
ter has  not  as  good  flavor  as  when  the  cows  are 
fi^esh.    This  will  apply  to  all  methods  of  cream- 


132  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

ing,  whether  the  shallow-pan,  the  deep  cold  sys- 
tem, or  the  separator,  although  the  separator 
will  secure  a  larger  increase  of  butter  over  the 
gravity  method  when  we  have  a  hard-skimming 
milk  than  when  we  have  a  milk  that  creams 
readily.  The  conditions  must  be  the  most  fa- 
vorable to  secure  thorough  creaming  with  the 
gravity  methods,  but  the  separator  can  be  ad- 
justed to  get  pra,ctically  all  the  cream  from  any 
and  all  milk. 

Care  in  Skimming. — The  skimming  of  the 
Cooley  and  "shot-gun"  deep-setting  cans  is 
very  different.  In  the  Cooley  can  the  skim-milk 
is  drawn  from  the  bottom  and  the  cream  is  not 
disturbed  except  as  it  settles  as  the  milk  is 
drawn  out  of  the  can,  but  with  the  ''shot-gun" 
can  the  cream  is  taken  off  the  top  with  a  conical 
dipper  and  great  care  is  necessary  to  avoid  mix- 
ing the  cream  and  milk  during  the  process  of 
skimming. 

Centrifugal  Separators. — When  a  centrifugal 
separator  is  to  be  used,  I  would  recommend  that 
some  power  be  used,  either  water,  steam,  some 
animal  or  gasoline  power.  Do  not  calculate  on 
the  hired  man,  the  boy  or  the  proprietor  doing 
this  work.  If  you  have  cows  enough  so  you  can 
afford  to  hav^  a  separator,  you  can  afford  to 
have  somd  power  to  operate  it.  I  have  had  just 
enough  experience  in  this  line  to  know  that  it 
is  hard  work.    It  is  the  kind  of  work  that  does 


CREAM  SEPARATOR,  BOWL  TYPE 


HANDLIXG    THE   MILK.  133 

not  induce  the  boy  to  remain  on  the  farm.  If 
any  person  should  do  this  work  it  certainly 
should  be  the  proprietor. 

Tlie  most  praetical  power  for  operating  the 
separator  is  a  tread  power  on  which  the  bull 
can  be  used.  This  exercise  for  the  bull  helps  to 
keep  him  in  good  condition  and  increases  his 
usefulness.  The  Illinois  experiment  station 
uses  tread  power  to  exercise  the  bulls  when 
there  is  no  work  to  be  done  by  the  process. 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  opposed  to 
the  separator,  as  I  know  very  well  that  it  will 
secure  for  us  the  most  effectual  work  possible. 
I  believe  that  we  can  make  butter  with  a  more 
delicate  flavor  or,  if  you  please,  a  higher  flavor, 
when  the  separator  is  used  than  with  gravity 
methods  of  creaming.  Especially  will  this  be 
the  case  in  the  dairy,  as  the  milk  will  be  sep- 
arated immediately  after  milking  and  the 
quicker  it  is  done  the  better.  With  the  utmost 
cleanliness  there  is  liable  to  be  and  at  times  will 
be  elements  in  the  milk  from  contact  with  which 
it  is  best  that  the  cream  should  be  removed. 
Any  one  who  has  operated  and  cleaned  separa- 
tors for  a  few  months  can  realize  this  point  fully. 
In  j)roof  of  this  point,  it  has  been  learned  that 
milk  for  cheese-making  is  improved  by  running 
it  through  a  separator  without  separating  the 
cream.  I  believe  Dr.  Babcock  has  practiced  this 
iu  an  experimental  way. 


134  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

When  the  separator  is  to  be  used  it  is  best  to 
separate  as  soon  after  milking  as  is  practicable. 
If  power  of  some  kind  is  used  the  separator  can 
be  put  in  operation  soon  after  milking  has  com- 
menced or  at  least  commenced  in  time  to  have 
continuous  work  for  the  separator  and  get 
through  separating  as  soon  as  practicable  after 
the  milking  is  done.  The  milk  as  it  comes  from 
the  cow  is  in  the  best  possible  condition  to 
separate. 

Farm  Skim-milk. — There  is  a  great  variety 
in  the  quality  of  work  done  in  the  line  of  skim- 
ming by  farmers.  I  have  tested  farmers '  skim- 
milk  from  the  gravity  process  that  contained 
1%  per  cent  of  fat.  They  had  recovered  less 
than  two-thirds  of  the  fat  in  the  milk.  This 
quality  of  work  makes  an  enormous  loss.  No 
business  except  farming  could  stand  such  losses. 
The  dairyman  of  the  future  is  not  going  to  make 
such  wastes.  It  is  only  quite  recently  that  we 
have*  any  practical  method  of  knowing  what 
losses  were  being  made  and  now  we  are  stopping 
these  leaks  rapidly. 


CREAM  SEPARATOR,  TUBULAR  TYPE 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


RIPENING  AND  CUUENING. 

We  will  now  suppose  we  have  the  cream  sei> 
arated  from  the  milk  by  some  one  of  the  proc- 
esses. The  cretin  from  the  shallow  setting  when 
the  milk  was  sour  at  the  time  the  skimmijig 
was  done  may  be  churned  as  soon  as  convenient 
after  it  is  taken  from  the  milk,  as  it  has  ripened 
on  the  milk  and  is  in  good  condition  to  churn. 

Holding  Cream. — It  may  also  be  put  in  a 
can  and  held  for  two  or  three  days,  if  held  at  a 
low  temperature — 50  deg. — and  cream  may  be 
added  from  each  succeeding  skimming  and 
thoroughly  mixed  with  the  cream  already  in 
the  cream  can.  The  cream  can  should  b^  large 
enough  to  hold  a  churning,  then  we  are  quite 
sure  that  tlie  cream  is  all  of  a  uniform?  ripeness. 
This  is  necessary  to  secure  the  most  exhaustive 
churning. 

When  we  mix  cream  of  different  degrees  of 
ripeness  in  the  chum  there  is  sure  to  be  a  large 
loss  in  the  buttermilk.  If  tlie  churning  is  done 
at  a  low  temperature  the  loss  will  be  less  than 
if  done  at  60  or  62  deg.  This  rule  will  hold  good 
with  all  kinds  of  cream  and  all  degrees  of 
ripeness. 

135 


136  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

Some  kind  of  a  vessel  about  tlie  same  depth 
as  the  cream  caoi  and  several  inches  larger  in 
diameter  is  needed  to  pnt  the  cream  can  in  and 
surround  it  with  water,  warm  or  cold,  as  needed 
to  warm  or  cool  the  cream.  A  wooden  vat  may 
be  used  for  this  purpose. 

Deep  Cold-setting  Cream. — The  cTeam  from 
the  deep  cold-setting  will  be^  or  should  be,  at  a 
low  temperature  when  taken  from  the  milk. 
This  may  be  put  in  the  cream*  can  or  vat  and 
held  at  a  low  temperature,  as-  low  as  50  deg.,  if 
practical,  adding  thef  cream  from  each  succeed- 
ing skimming  until  a  churning  is  secured,  or 
from  twcj  to  four  daysi,  giving  the  cream  a  thor- 
ough* stirring  overy  time  fresh  cream  is  added. 
About  eighteen  to  twenty  hours  before  you  wish 
tof  churn  warm  th.:s  cream  to  65  deg.  and  hold  it 
at  this  temperature  until  ripened,  which  will  be 
about  eighteen  hours. 

Sepscrator  Cream. — Th^  cream  from  the  sep- 
ara,tor  should  be  immediately  cooled  to  a  low 
temperature,  the  degree  depending  on  when  it 
is  to  be  churned.  If  to!  be  held  two  or  three 
days,  cool  it  to  50  deg.,  or  as  nearly  as  practical. 
If  ice  is  used  40  deg.  can  be  reached.  The 
cream  from  each  successive  skimming  may  be 
added  to  the  can  and  thoroughly  mixed  at  each 
addition  of  cream.  This  cream  may  be  ripened 
the  same  as  the  cream  from  the  deep  cold 
system. 


RIPENING  AND   CHURNING.  137 

Different  Temperatures  for  Churning. — We 

now  have  the  cream  from  the  shallow  setting, 
the  deep  setting  and  from  the  separator,  ripened 
ready  to  churn.  The  next  point  is  to  secure  the 
projDer  temperature  before  putting  it  in  the 
chum.  It  is  best  to  cool  the  cream*  from  the 
shallow  setting  system  to  54  or  56  deg.  before 
churning.  This  cream  is  rich  in  fat  and  can  be 
churned  at  this  temperature  without  any  diffi- 
culty. Let  the  cream  stand  at  low  temperature 
before  churning  long  enough  for  the  fats  to  so- 
lidify or  harden. 

The  cream  from  the  deep-cold  system  has  a 
much  larger  per  cent  of  milk  in  it,  and  conse- 
quently a  smaller  per  cent  of  fat,  and  will  need 
to  be  churned  at  a  higher  temperature.  If  we 
undertake  to  churn  this  cream  below  55  deg. 
we  will  probably  have  trouble  from  its  swelling 
and  will  find  the  churn  full  of  frothy  cream. 
The  proper  temperature  for  this  cream  is  60  to 
62  deg.  in  winter  and  58  to  60  deg.  in  summer. 

The  separator  cream  should  be  cooled  to  a 
temperature  to  con-espond  with  the  per  cent  of 
fat  it  contains.  If  the  separator  is  adjusted  to 
take  from  one-seventh  to  one-eighth  of  the 
whole  milk  as  cream,  it  will  contain  sufficient 
fat  so  we  can  churn  it  at  a  temperature  below  55 
deg.,  but  if  the  separator  is  adjusted  to  take 
one-fourth  to  one-fifth  of  the  milk  as  cream,  we 
shall  have  need  to  churn  at  the  temperature  of 


138  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

58  to  60  deg.  This  kind  of  cream  gives  us  more 
buttermilk  with  more  fat  in  it.  Eich  cream  and 
low  temperature  give  the  most  exhaustive 
churning. 

Preparing  to  Churn. — When  the  cream  is 
being  cooled,  get  the  churn  ready  by  first  scald- 
ing with  water  that  is  above  180  deg.  and  if  it 
boils  all  the  better,  as  it  will  then  sm^ely  scald. 
After  scalding  cool  thoroughly  with  cold  water 
and  ice  if  you  have  it.  When  cooled  the  churn 
is  ready  for  the  cream.  Never  fill  the  chum 
more  than  half  full,  as  it  will  require  more  time 
and  not  do  so  thorough  churning. 

When  cream  is  ready  to  churn  it  has  a  mild 
acid.  It  should  not  reach  the  acetic  acid.  It 
should  not  reach  the  stage  of  whey  accumulat- 
ing in  the  bottom  of  the  can. 

Straining  and  Churning. — Strain  the  cream 
into  the  chum.  A  perforated  tin  strainer  is 
good  for  this  work.  Straining  breaks  any  dried 
crea,m  there  may  be,  also  the  curd  if  there  is 
any,  and  enables  us  to  wash  it  out  of  the  gran- 
ular butter  with  less  labor  and  care.  There 
should  be  no  curd  in  the  cream  and  if  it  has 
been  agitated  frequently  and  not  allowed  to  be- 
come too  sour  there  will  be  none. 

In  case  you  have  allowed  the  cream  to  become 
so  sour  that  there  are  hard  curd  specks  in  it,  be 
sure  to  stop  the  chum  when  the  butter  is  in  small 
granules  or  as  soon  as  the  butter  will  all  float. 


RIPEXIXG  AND   CHURXIXG.  139 

Draw  off  most  of  the  buttermilk  and  add  water 
and  agitate  geutly  with  a  swaying  motion  and 
draw  off  the  water,  repeating  this  process  two 
or  three  times.  The  curd  is  heavier  than  the 
water  and  will  settle  to  the  bottom  of  the  churn 
when  it  can  be  drawn  out  with  the  water.  There 
is  always  a  loss  of  flavor  when  the  cream  has 
become  so  sour  as  to  have  curd  specks. 

Butter  Color. — If  the  butter  needs  coloring  to 
satisfy  your  trade  put  it  into  your  cream  before 
starting  to  churn.  When  purchasing  butter 
color  be  sure  that  you  get  fresh  goods,  as  it  will 
sometimes  become  stale  with  age  and  injure  the 
flavor  of  the  butter.  If  you  buy  the  small  bot- 
tles at  your  grocery  store  you  will  need  to  look 
vn'cII  after  this  point.  I  have  had  butter  color 
that  would  impart  a  flavor  to  the  cream  that 
could  be  detected  before  the  churn  was  started. 
In  case  you  forget  to  add  the  color  to  the  cream, 
you  can  add  it  to  the  salt,  using  the  same  quan- 
tity that  would  be  used  in  the  cream.  By  stir- 
ring the  salt  as  the  color  is  added  it  will  take  the 
color  and  impart  it  to  the  butter  very  well 

The  Churn. — Use  some  churn  that  revolves, 
as  there  is  no  place  for  cream  to  accumulate  and 
cause  a  loss  of  fat  in  the  buttermilk.  The  sealed 
churn  holds  the  temperature  best  during  the 
process  of  churning,  which  is  an  advantage. 

Temperature  of  Churn  Room. — Have  the  tem- 
perature of  the  room  in  which  the  churning  is 


140 


THE  FARM  DAIRY. 


to  be  done  as  cold  as  the  cream  if  possible,  and 
if,  it  is  10  to  15  deg.  colder  all  the  better,  as 
the  cream  will  then  not  become  waxm  during  the 
churning  process.  But  if  the  churn  room  is  up 
to  75  or  80  deg.  the  cream  will  warm  up  very 
fast  and  the  butter  will  not  be  in  as  good  con- 


Barrel  Churn. 

dition.     It  will  need  much  more  washing  than 
when  it  gathers  cold. 

Washing  the  Butter. — The  chum  should  be 
stopped  when  the  granules  of  butter  are  the  size 
of  wheat.  If  the  churning  is  continued  until 
the  butter  is  gathered  into  a  solid  mass,  it  can- 
not be  washed  to  remove  the  buttermilk  or  curd 


RIPENING  AND   CHURNING.  141 

specks,  in  case  there  are  any.  Draw  the  butter- 
milk through  a  fine  sieve,  and  wash  it  as  little 
as  practical  to  remove  the  buttermilk.  Here  is 
where  the  cold  churning  has  the  advantage,  as 
the  butter  will  not  need  so  much  washing. 
When  the  butter  gathers  at  62  to  64  deg.  it  will 
need  three  washings  to  remove  the  buttermilk 
and  it  will  then  show  milky  when  it  is  worked; 
but  if  it  gathers  at  52  to  54  deg.  it  will  require 
but  one  washing,  if  any,  and  I  am  confident  we 
will  have  a  better  flavor  if  not  washed  at  all. 
When  washing  do  not  allow  the  butter  to  re- 
main in  the  water  any  longer  than  is  absolutely 
necessary.  Remove  the  water  as  soon  as  it  has 
done  its  work.  Allowing  butter  to  lie  in  water 
is  a  vital  mistake,  as  it  removes  flavor. 

Low  Temperature. — Churning  at  50  to  52  deg. 
is  a  radical  change  from  the  general  practice 
and  there  are  still  many  who  do  not  believe  it 
practical,  but  it  is  the  daily  practice  in  our 
creameries  in  cold  weather.  It  is  not  unusual 
but  rather  the  rule  that  our  butter  will  stand 
as  low  as  54  deg.  in  winter  when  the  buttermilk 
is  removed.  To  avoid  too  much  washing,  churn 
at  as  low  temperature  as  possible.  To  secure 
the  most  exhaustive  churning,  churn  at  low  tem- 
perature. To  churn  at  low  temperature  it  is 
necessary  to  have  a  rich  cream.  Do  not  attempt 
to  churn  poor  or  thin  cream  at  a  low  tempera- 
ture, as  you  will  have  trouble.     I  have  many 


142  I'SE  FARM  DAIRY. 

times  in  my  early  experience  had  cream  from 
deep  cold  setting  that  was  too  cold  and  swelled 
so  as  to  fill  the  churn  too  full,  thereby  prevent- 
ing churning,  and  I  was  compelled  to  draw  out 
one-half  of  it  and  make  two  churnings.  This 
will  require  less  time  and  much  less  patience 
than  it  will  to  churn  or  try  to,  when  the  churn 
is  so  full  that  there  is  no  concussion. 

Handle  with  Ladle. — Keep  the  butter  in  the 
granular  form  until  it  is  put  on  the  worker  and 
the  salt  is  added.  Keep  your  hands  out  of  the 
butter,  and  handle  it  with  a  wooden  scoop  and 
ladle. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


SALTING  AND  FINISHING  THE  PRINT. 

Tlie  salting  may  be  done  in  the  churn  or  on 
the  worker.  If  the  box  or  barrel  chum  is  used 
it  can  be  salted  very  nicely  in  the  churn.  Use 
a  sieve  and  put  the  salt  thTough  it  into  the 
granular  butter,  then  revolve  the  churn  very 
slowly  and  the  salt  can  be  thoroughly  mixed 
with  the  butter  before  it  is  taken  from  the 
chum  and  while  it  is  in  the  granular  form.  The 
main  objection  I  have  to  salting  granular  butter 
in  the  churn  is  the  uncertainty  as  to  the  amount 
or  weight  of  the  butter.  When  a  small  churn 
is  to  be  used  this  can  be  overcome  by  weighing 
the  chum  with  the  butter  in  it.  This  was  my 
practice  until  my  dairy  increased  so  as  to  re- 
quire a  churn  of  a  size  that  could  not  be  readily 
handled  and  weighed.  The  advantage  of  churn- 
ing at  a  low  temperature  comes  in  here  too,  as 
the  butter  at  a  low  temperature  does  not  pack 
so  readily  and  the  salt  can  be  mixed  with  less 
working. 

Amount  of  Salt. — Use  sufficient  salt  to  suit 
your  trade.  Our  experience  is  with  a  trade  that 
wants  three-quarters  to  one  ounce  per  pound. 

143 


144  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

Butter-Workers. — Work  the  butter  once  or 
twice  as  you  like.  Take  the  butter  out  of  the 
churn  with  a  wooden  scoop.  A  small  scoop  can 
be  secured  for  dairy  work.  Some  style  of  a 
hand  butter-worker  should  be  used.  There  are 
several  styles  that  are  all  right. 

Once  Working. — The  butter  should  be  worked 
enough  to  incorporate  the  salt  thoroughly  so 
that  when  it  has  stood  twenty-four  hours  it  will 
not  show  mottled  or  streaked  when  bored  or  cut 
with  a  ladle.  If  at  any  time  you  find  this  ap- 
pearance in  your  butter  you  may  know  that  it  is 
not  thoroughly  worked  ^nd  it  is  best  to  rework 
butter  that  has  much  of  this  appearance. 

Twice  Working. — If  twice  working  is  prac- 
ticed it  should  be  worked  sufficiently  at  the  first 
working  to  get  the  salt  well  incorporated  with 
the  butter;  then  it  should  stand  long  enough  to 
allow  the  salt  to  dissolve,  when  it  is  ready  for 
the  final  working.  At  this  working  the  butter 
is  sufficiently  worked  when  there  are  no  streaks 
of  white  to  be  seen  when  cut  with  the  ladle  and 
held  to  the  light. 

Do  not  confound  this  mottled  or  streaked  ap- 
pearance that  comes  from  insufficient  working 
with  the  white  curd  specks  that  come  from  too 
sour  cream.  With  cream  from  shallow  pans 
there  is  some  danger  of  parts  becoming  so  dry 
that  they  go  through  the  churning  process  and 
we  find  them  in  the  butter  as  dried  cream  and 


SALTING  AND   FINISHING  THE  PRINT.        145 

when  color  has  been  used  they  will  show  as  light 
spots  though  not  white  as  the  curd  will.  Strain- 
ing the  cream  will  remedy  this  trouble.  You 
can  readily  tell  the  difference,  as  one  is  fat  and 
will  readily  dissolve  between  the  thumb  and 
finger  and  the  other  is  curd  and  will  not  dissolve 
either  in  the  mouth  or  by  heat. 

Kind  of  Packages. — Use  a  package  to  suit 
your  trade,  but  whatever  you  use  be  sure  that 
it  is  clean  and  sweet.  Stone  and  earthen  jars 
must  be  looked  after  very  carefully,  especially 
if  they  have  been  previously  used,  as  they 
quickly  get  out  of  condition  if  not  properly 
cared  foT.  Wooden  packages  should  not  be  used 
a  second  time  for  packed  butter.  Most  of  them 
are  cheaply  made  and  are  intended  to  be  used 
but  once,  and  it  is  a  very  difficult  matter  to  have 
them  kept  so  that  it  is  safe  to  use  them  a  second 
time. 

The  dairyman  will  have  more  of  this  to  con- 
tend with  than  the  creamery  man  will,  and  he 
must  look  sharply  after  it.  I  have  had  bad 
smelling  packages  come  from  the  best  families. 
The  mistress  cannot  attend  to  everything,  but 
must  trust  to  some  one  and  she  is  often  deceived 
on  this  point. 

Butter  Prints. — Tlie  practice  of  printing  but- 
ter has  grown  remarkably  during  the  past  fif- 
teen years  and  now  (1908)  most  of  the  butter 
that  is  retailed  is  put  up  in  one  pound  prints 


1^6 


THE  FARM  DAIRY. 


wliicli    are    wrapped    with    parcliment    paper, 
which,  carries   the  name  of  the  farm  or   the 


maker.  I  find  that  the  retailer  prefers  this  form 
to  the  solid  packed  as  he  can  handle  it  like 
canned  goods  in  filling  orders.  I  have  been  told 
by  gTOcerymen  that  when  they  sell  small  quan- 
tities from  a  large  package  three  cent  margin  is 
necessary  to  get  ba.ck  the  money  they  paid  for 
the  butter.  Another  point  in  favor  of  the  print 
butter  is  its  better  appearance.  When  it  is  nicely 
printed  and  wrapped  in  parchment  paper  it 
looks  very  neat  and  attractive.  It  can  also  be 
more  readily  put  in  shape  for  the  table. 


SALTING  AND  FINISHING  THE  PRINT. 


147 


Shipping-Boxes. — Tliere    are    shipping-boxes 
for  i>rint  butter  for  sale  by  dairy  implement 


Butter  Shipping-Box. 


dealers,    some   with    ice-box    attachments    and 
others  without. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


MAEKETING  DAIEY  BUTTEE. 

Tliere  are  many  ways  of  marketing  dairy  but- 
ter. At  times  it  may  be  sold  to  good  advantage 
at  the  country  store,  but  this  is  the  exception, 
not  the  rule.  The  country  store  does  not  usually 
pay  for  butter  on  its  merits.  The  seller  is  often 
a  customer  and  they  do  not  want  to  offend  and 
so  they  pay  more  for  poor  butter  than  it  is 
worth,  and  to  balance  up  must  pay  less  for  good 
butter  than  it  is  worth. 

In  many  places  a  good  market  may  be  secured 
among  the  citizens  of  the  village  or  city  where 
you  trade.  Many  are  anxious  to  have  a  reliable 
source  of  supply,  and  are  willing  to  pay  well  for 
butter  that  satisfies  them. 

Poor  Butter  Makes  a  Loss. — Poor  butter 
makes  a  loss  to  the  maker  and  usually  to  every 
one  down  the  line  that  has  anything  to  do  with 
it  excepting  the  commission  houses,  and  it 
makes  them  tired.  Tlie  dealer  makes  his  profit 
on  the  fine  goods.  Now  all  low  grades  go  to 
the  process  factories  to  be  renovated.  All  but- 
ter that  goes  to  the  renovators  has  made  a  loss 

148 


MARKETING    DAIRY    BUTTER.  J49 

to  tlie  maker  or  dealer  who  lias  handled  it  and. 
many  times  to  both. 

Fine  Butter  Makes  a  Profit. — There  is  no 
trouble  in  selling  fine  butter.  The  trouble  will 
come  from  not  being  able  to  supply  the  demand. 
When  you  have  reached  this  condition  you  are 
in  position  to  secure  an  advance  in  price.  This 
is  what  you  have  been  working  for.  Now  you 
have  the  move  in  the  game  and  should  try  to 
keep  it.  Tliis  you  can  do  only  by  continually 
trying  to  do  better  work.  It  will  not  answer  to 
think  you  have  reached  the  top  and  can  remain 
there  without  an  effort,  as  this  feeling  leads  to 
defeat. 

Commission  Houses. — A  good  way  is  to  con- 
sign to  a  reliable  commission  house.  Here  your 
butter  will  sell  on  its  merits,  and  if  there  is 
anything  wrong  with  it,  you  can  learn  what  the 
trouble  is,  and  when  you  are  told  do  not  be  of- 
fended about  it  but  go  to  work  and  remedy  the 
trouble.  In  selecting  a  commission  firm  to  sell 
your  butter  be  careful  not  to  make  a  mistake. 
There  are  plenty  of  reliable  firms  that  advertise 
in  the  dairy  papers.  Many  dairy  papers  will 
not  receive  an  advertisement  from  a  firm  that 
they  do  not  know  to  be  reliable.  And  this  is 
right. 

Wlien  you  have  decided  to  let  a  commission 
man  handle  your  butter  and  have  selected  your 
man,  remember  that  you  and  the  commission 


150  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

man  are  both  interested  in  having  good  sales 
made,  and  you  can  help  him  by  shipping  your 
butter  on  a  regular  day,  as  often  as  once  per 
week.  The  commission  man  will  soon  have  cus- 
tomers for  your  butter  and  they  will  depend 
upon  it. 

Have  a  brand  for  your  butter,  and  be  sure  you 
keep  the  quality  up  to  standard.  If  at  any  time 
you  have  butter  that  is  not  up  to  standard,  keep 
your  brand  off  it.  Consign  it  to  your  regular 
man  and  tell  him  what  the  trouble  is,  if  you 
know,  and  if  you  do  not  ask  him  to  help  you 
over  the  difficulty;  in  many  cases  he  will  be  able 
to  do  it.  Treat  him  as  a  friend  and  in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten,  he  will  prove  a  friend. 

In  my  early  dairy  experience  I  had  private 
customers,  but  I  somehow  drifted  away  from 
them.  Sometimes  I  had  a  surplus  to  consign 
and  at  other  times  I  did  not  have  enough  to  fill 
my  orders,  and  if  I  bought  to  meet  the  demand 
there  was  in  many  cases  dissatisfaction. 

Butter  Has  Individuality. — There  is  an  indi- 
viduality about  butter  as  much  as  in  persons  and 
when  customers  become  acquainted  with  a  cer- 
tain brand  they  prefer  it  to  some  other  make 
that  is  equally  good.  Tliis  individuality  must 
be  preserved.  If  at  any  time  you  think  it  best 
to  make  a  change  in  any  of  the  details  of  your 
work  let  the  change  be  made  gradually,  so  the 
customers  will  adapt  themselves  to  the  change 


MARKETING    DAIRY    BUTTER.  151 

and  probably  be  pleased  witli  it,  when  if  you 
had  made  an  abrupt  change  they  would  not  have 
liked  it.  I  recently  had  the  pleasure  of  examin- 
ing some  butter  made  near  one  of  our  large 
cities.  This  butter  was  selling  for  seventy  cents 
per  pound.  This  caused  me  to  examine  it  very 
carefully.  The  butter  was  very  fine.  It  had  a  pe- 
culiar flavor,  different  from  any  flavor  I  had 
ever  discovei*ed  in  butter  before.  I  was  told 
that  this  peculiar  flavor  was  virtually  a  trade- 
mark; that  the  consumer  soon  learned  to  like  it 
and  preferred  it  to  any  other  flavor.  I  mention 
this  in  proof  of  the  statement  that  customers 
prefer  what  they  have  become  accustomed  to 
rather  than  anything  different  that  is  equally 
good. 

Care  Pays  Well. — Do  not  be  afraid  that  extra 
time  spent  in  fitting  your  butter  for  market  will 
not  pay.  Eemember  that  you  are  building  a 
reputation  that  will  enable  you  to  secure  a  better 
price  and  cause  your  butter  to  sell  readily  at  all 
times.  On  a  dull  and  declining  market  esi>ecial- 
ly  will  it  do  you  good,  as  your  goods  will  move 
in  time  to  escape  a  large  part  of  the  decline. 
Poor  butter  always  gets  caught  when  the  mar- 
ket declines.  This  leaves  it  to  go  from  bad  to 
worse,  and  it  will  go  at  a  terrible  gait,  as  we 
become  well  aware  when  the  returns  come. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


UTENSILS  FOR  THE  DAIEY. 

Milk  pails  slioiuld  always  be  of  tin.  When 
purchasing  tinware  of  any  kind  have  your  tin- 
ner solder  around  all  rims  and  open  joints  where 
dirt  can  accumulate.  The  cost  of  this  will  be 
sa,ved  many  times  over  in  the  labor  required  to 
wash  them.  I  never  had  sufficient  patience  to 
fool  away  my  time  trying  to  get  a  dishcloth  into 
every  corner  and  around  rims  and  ears  of  pails, 
when  I  knew  a  few  cents  spent  at  the  tin  shop 
would  put  the  tinware  in  shape  that  the  dish- 
cloth will  reach  all  parts  and  time  is  not  re- 
quired to  dig  dirt  out  of  holes  that  need  not 
be.  Clean  all  utensils  as  soon  as  possible  after 
using  them.  The  longer  they  remain  without 
being  cleaned,  the  more  time  will  be  required  to 
do  the  work. 

Washing  Tinware. — When  washing  tinware 
about  the  dairy  always  use  first  cool  or  tepid 
water,  as  hot  water  applied  to  milk  vessels  cooks 
the  milk  onto  the  tin  and  gives  them  an  appear- 
ance that  you  will  not  take  pride  in  displaying. 
After  they  are  washed  in  tepid  or  cold  water, 

152 


UTENSILS    FOR    THE    DAIRY.  I53 

wash  them  in  hot  water,  then  scald  them  with 
boiling  water  or  steam  if  it  is  availahle.  When 
steam  is  used  there  is  no  guess  work  about  it,  as 
it  reaches  all  parts  and  does  thorough  work. 
When  hot  water  is  used  there  is  often  too  much 
guess  work  about  the  temperature. 

After  scalding,  the  vessels  should  be  put  in 
the  sun  to  dxy  and  air.  When  tlioroughly  scald- 
ed there  is  sufficient  heat  to  cause  the  dishes  or 
vessels  to  dry  without  wiping.  Have  a  place  for 
all  the  tin  and  woodenware  in  the  sun  for  a  time 
after  cleaning  and  scalding.  Never  put  the 
covers  on  tin  vessels  after  scalding  them-,  neither 
w^ill  it  answer  to  put  them  in  a  position  that  will 
prevent  a  circulation  of  air.  Dead  air  is  far 
from  sweet-smelling. 

Churn  and  Worker. — The  churn  and  butter- 
worker  and  all  other  wooden  utensils  should  be 
first  washed  in  hot  water,  then  scalded  with 
boiling  water  or  steam.  Wooden  utensils  must 
not  be  left  in  the  sun  long  enough  to  cause  them 
to  warp  or  crack. 

Preparing  Wooden  Utensils.— Before  using 
the  chum  and  all  other  woodenware  it  should  be 
scalded,  then  thoroughly  cooled.  Scalding  wood- 
en utensils  and  then  thoToughly  cooling  with 
cold  water  will  prevent  the  butter  sticking  to 
them.  When  the  butter  sticks  to  a  wooden  ves- 
sel or  utensil  it  is  positive  proof  that  it  has  not 
been  properly  prepared  before  using  and  the 


154  I'HE  FARM  DAIRY. 

only  way  is  to  do  this  work  over  in  a  proper 
manner. 

Return  Milk  in  Barrels.— Great  care  is  neces- 
sary in  cleansing  cans  that  are  used  in  drawing 
milk  to  a  creamery,  especially  if  skim-mill; 
or  whey  is  returned  in  them.  The  best  way 
is  to  take  the  milk  back  to  the  farm  in  barrels 
and  have  the  cans  washed  at  the  creamery  be- 
fore being  returned  to  the  patrons.  But  in  many 
cases  this  is  not  practicable,  as  the  milk  comes 
in  loads  and  the  skim-milk  must  go  back  in 
cans,  if  it  is  taken,  which  it  surely  should  be. 
These  cans  should  be  treated  as  any  otlier  milk 
vessels,  but  more  care  is  necessary,  as  in  many 
cases  the  milk  has  become  sour  before  reaching 
home  and  adheres  to  the  can.  A  brush  is  an  ex- 
cellent tool  to  use  for  this  work,  as  it  will  get  at 
the  corners  much  better  than  a  dishcloth.  Lack 
of  care  in  this  line  soon  gives  foul  cans  and  bad 
milk.  All  vessels  must  be  kept  sweet  and  clean 
or  there  will  be  serious  trouble  in  a  very  short 
time. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


MAKING  CEETIFIED  MILK. 

Having  sold  my  certified  milk  business  after 
eleven  years'  experience,  I  feel  free  to  discuss 
it  in  all  of  its  details.  I  was  induced  to  embark 
in  the  business  by  some  of  the  leading  Chicago 
physicians  who  were  anxious  to  secure  a  pure 
milk  for  infants  and  invalids.  They  labored  with 
me  a  year  and  a  half  before  I  decided  that  it  was 
safe  from  a  financial  point  fox  me  to  undertake 
the  business. 

A  Delivery  System  Essential. — I  was  the 
pioneer  in  the  business  in  Chicago  and  like 
other  pioneers  had  many  obstacles  to  overcome. 
One  of  the  first  points  in  connection  with  the 
city  end  was  how  to  deliver  the  milk  to  the  cus- 
tomers. I  foresaw  that  the  cost  of  delivering  to 
all  parts  of  the  city  with  my  own  wagons  would 
be  so  much  that  it  would  mean  financial  failure 
and  conceived  of  the  plan  of  making  agents  of 
the  milk  dealers  whose  wagons  were  delivering 
milk  in  all  portions  of  the  city  where  milk  was 
needed.  The  medical  profession  induced  me  to 
embark  in  the  business  and  were  to  create  the 

155 


156  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

demand  for  my  milk,  therefore  I  must  fill  their 
orders  regardless  of  location.  This  method  of 
delivering  was  the  salvation  of  the  business  as  I 
could  not  have  made  a  success  of  it  following 
any  other  plan. 

Difficulties  Encountered. — As  an  illustration 
of  the  nature  of  some  of  the  oi^position  I  met,  I 
could  not  at  first  induce  the  dealers  to  act  as 
agents  to  deliver  my  milk  on  a  commission  of 
three  cents  per  quart.  Some  of  them  laughed  at 
me  when  I  offered  them  the  agency.  They  were 
determined  not  to  have  me  in  the  business.  One 
large  firm  gave  me  thirty  days  to  do  business  in 
the  city,  but  the  business  kept  on  growing  in 
S23ite  of  the  opposition  and  agents  learned  that 
when  a  doctor  prescribed  the  milk  they  had  no 
influence  in  stopping  its  delivery;  the  order 
would  be  filled  as  a  prescription  would  be  filled 
at  a  drug  store.  Some  small  dealers  were  so 
venomous  towards  me  that  they  would  break  all 
my  bottles  they  could  get  into  their  possession 
and  other  small  dealers  transacted  business  with 
the  use  of  my  bottles.  It  cost  me  five-eighths  of 
a  cent  for  every  quart  of  milk  shipped  to  keep 
up  my  stock  of  bottles. 

As  the  business  developed  the  dealers  saw 
that  it  was  an  aid  to  securing  more  business  and 
became  anxious  to  obtain  the  agencies  for  my 
milk,  as  it  took  them  into  families  they  could 
not  reach  in  any  other  way,  giving  them  the  op- 


MAKING    CERTIFIED    MILK.  I57 

portunity  to  secure  all  the  milk  business  of  the 
family. 

The  Farm  End  of  the  Certified  Milk  Work.— 
The  first  important  matter  in  the  farm  end  of 
the  work  is  to  apply  the  tuberculin  test  to  the 
cows  in  the  lierd.  In  the  first  application  of  the 
test  to  my  herd,  we  found  tliTee  per  cent  of  the 
cows  tuberculous.  All  of  the  tuberculous  cows 
had  been  bought  one  and  a  half  years  previous 
to  the  application  of  the  test  and  not  one  of  the 
herd  raised  on  the  farm  was  found  to  be  tuber- 
culous. I  found  tuberculous  cows  frequently 
among  those  bought  even  when  I  selected  them 
myself.  It  is  well  known  at  the  present  time 
that  a  cow  may  be  tuberculous  and  there  be  no 
outward  indication  of  it. 

Responsibility  of  Dealers. — Those  who  wish 
to  undertake  the  production  of  this  kind  of 
milk  for  feeding  infants  and  invalids,  should 
realize  the  responsibility  of  this  work  before 
entering  the  field.  They  should  realize  that  they 
have  human  lives  entrusted  to  them  to  the  same 
extent  as  the  doctor.  The}-  should  know  that  to 
neglect  their  work  may  mean  death  to  some  lit- 
tle one  that  is  being  fed  this  milk.  They  must 
know  that  the  cow  must  be  fed  properly  and 
regularly  with  food  that  will  keep  liei'  always  in 
perfect  physical  condition.  She  must  have  the 
purest  water  and  kindesi;  treatment  and  mu^t 
never  become  excited  by  a  dog,  boy,  a  man  on 


158  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

liorseback  or  with  a  whip.  Everything  must  be 
avoided  that  might  have  an  unfavorable  influ- 
ence upon  the  cow.  A"  cow  may  be  so  improper- 
ly fed  that  her  milk  is  not  fit  for  feeding  to 
babies  or  invalids. 

I  know  of  one  case  where  a  dairyman  fed  his 
cows  in  a  way  that  caused  them  to  become  con- 
stipa.ted  to  such  a  degree  that  his  child  being 
fed  upon  the  milk  became  sick.  I  fully  believe 
that  cows  can  be  so  well  fed  and  cared  for  that 
the  milk  is  safer  food  fo-r  the  child  than  the 
mother's  milk,  in  a  majority  of  cases.  The 
mother  may  be  so  situated  in  life  that  she  must 
labor  at  times  until  her  blood  is  heated.  She 
may  be  worried  with  household  cares  or  unpleas- 
ant family  relations  to  such  extent  that  the 
nursing  babe  must  suffer. 

Standardizing  Milk. — I  practiced  standard- 
izing my  milk  as  the  doctors  told  me  it  was  de- 
sirable to  have  it  of  a  uniform  standard.  This 
was  accomplished  with  the  centrifugal  sepa- 
rator by  allowing  tlie  cream  and  skim-milk  to 
flow  together  as  they  came  from  the  machine.  I 
used  a  conductor  with  a  double  head  and  in  one 
compartment  we  put  a  drip  cock  which  could  be 
set  to  take  automatically  the  quantity  of  skim- 
milk  or  cream  necessary  to  make  the  standard 
what  we  wished  to  have  it.  Our  standard  Was 
four  per  cent  butter  fat  and  if  the  milk  as  it 
came  from  the  cows  was  below  the  four  per  cent, 


MAKING    CERTIFIED    MILK.  15  9 

we  caught  through  the  drip  sufficient  skira-milk 
to  bring  the  fat  standard  up  to  four  per  cent.  In 
case  the  milk  had  four  and  two-tenths  or  more 
of  butter  fat  we  turned  the  cream  into  the  com- 
partment with  the  drip  and  drew  out  sufficient 
cream  to  lower  the  fat  standard  to  four  per  cent. 
In  this  work  each  day's  milk  was  tested  and 
made  the  guide  for  the  following  day's  work. 

Dating  the  Milk  Bottles. — I  used  a  metal  cap 
and  seal  on  my  milk  bottles  on  which  the  date 
of  bottling  was  stamped.  In  this  way  the  age 
of  the  milk  was  carried  by  ever5^  bottle.  The  age 
of  the  milk  is  very  important  in  infant  feeding. 
It  is  not  sufficient  that  it  be  sweet.  It  must  be 
fresh.  Milk  may  be  unfit  for  feeding  a  baby  be- 
fore it  is  sour  to  the  taste.  Each  bottle  carrying 
the  date  of  bottling  on  a  metal  cap  which  can- 
not be  removed  and  returned  without  detection, 
rs  a  very  desirable  method  as  it  helps  to  estab- 
lish confidence  among  the  consumers  and  this  is 
a  necessity  in  the  high  grade  milk  business.  The 
mother  who  is  feeding  her  babe  on  cow's  milk 
has  a  right  to  know  all  about  it  and  the  pro- 
ducer who  does  not  meet  this  demand  openly 
and  fairly  will  never  succeed. 

Best  Man  for  the  Business. — The  man  who  has 
the  best  chance  to  succeed  in  the  certified  or 
pure  milk  business  is  the  intelligent  farmer,  one 
who  lives  on  his  farm  and  is  a  worker,  one  who 
has  practical  information  that  fits  him  to  over- 


160  '       THE  FARM  DAIRY, 

see  what  is  being  done  if  lie  does  not  do  it  liim- 
self.  This  kind  of  a  man  having  charge  of  the 
farm  end  of  the  work  will  succeed.  He  will  use 
metal  caps  and  seals  on  his  milk  bottles.  The 
caps  should  have  the  date  of  bottling  stamped 
on  them.  Then  he  will  sell  the  milk  to  some  rep- 
utable milk  dealer  or  make  an  agent  of  some 
dealer  who  will  guarantee  his  pay  for  the  milk. 
It  is  too  much  for  one  man  to  look  after  both 
the  producing  and  distributing  unless  the  milk 
is  sold  in  a  nearby  city  where  he  delivers  his 
milk  from  his  own  wagons. 

Equipment  for  the  Work. — An  expensive 
stable  is  not  a  necessity  in  the  production  of 
pure  milk,  but  it  is  necessary  to  have  it  well 
lighted,  well  ventilated  and  it  must  be  kept  in 
a  sanitary  condition.  The  platform  on  which  the 
cow  stands,  the  gutters  and  the  walks  should  be 
thoroughly  scrubbed  daily,  using  plenty  of  wa- 
ter. The  gutters  should  have  connection  with  a 
sewer  so  the  wash  water  can  be  conveyed  away 
from  the  barn.  The  cows  should  be  thoroughly 
groomed  one  half  hour  before  milking  time, 
thus  giving  time  for  the  dust  to  settle.  Their 
udders  should  be  washed  or  wiped  with  a  damp 
cloth  just  before  milking.  It  is  not  best  to  do 
the  washing  of  the  udders  much  in  advance  of 
milking  as  the  manipulation  stimulates  the  se- 
cretion of  milk  and  to  secure  the  best  results  we 
must  work  with  nature.    A  delav  of  a  few  min- 


MAKING    CERTIFIED    MILK.  IgJ 

utes  at  this  stage  of  the  work  causes  the  cow  to 
make  a  second  effort  which  is  not  as  satisfac- 
tory as  the  first. 

Cleanliness  in  Milking. — White  suits  should 
be  worn  and  the  millvers  should  have  a  clean 
suit  daily.  There  should  be  a  supply  of  water  in 
the  stables  and  the  milkers  required  to  clean 
their  hands  after  milking  each  cow.  The  first 
three  or  four  streams  of  milk  from  each  teat 
should  be  rejected  as  this  contains  many  more 
bacteria  than  the  milk  drawn  aftei^ward. 

Straining  the  Milk. — Absorbent  cotton  should 
be  used  on  the  milk  pail,  confining  it  between 
two  layers  of  the  thinnest  gauze.  If  the  goods 
used  to  confine  the  cotton  is  too  thick,  the  milk 
will  spatter  when  it  strikes  it,  but  when  very 
thin  gauze  is  used  the  milk  passes  through  it  to 
the  cotton.  The  layer  of  cotton  used  should  be 
as  thick  as  the  milk  will  pass  through  readily, 
and  it  should  be  used  for  one  milking  only.  The 
gauze  may  be  cleaned  and  sterilized  and  used 
until  worn  out. 

The  milk  must  be  removed  from  the  stable 
and  poured  through  an  absorbent  cotton  strain- 
er into  some  closed  vessel  into  which  it  is  to  be 
conveyed  to  the  bottling  room,  where  it  should 
be  cooled  as  soon  as  possible  to  a  temperature  of 
40  deg.  or  below,  then  bottled  and  placed  in 
cases  with  chopped  ice  added  which  will  con- 
tinue the  cooling  to  about  35  deg.  if  plenty  of 
fine  ice  is  used. 


162  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

Remarkable  Record  for  Certified  Milk. — Tlie 
writer  shipped  some  of  liis  certified  milk  to  the 
Paris  Exposition.  It  was  seventeen  days  in 
transit  and  kept  sweet  until  the  twenty-first  day 
after  it  left  the  farm  at  DeKalb,  111.  This  was 
the  month  of  Angnst,  and  the  milk  was  shipped 
by  express  to  New  York  when  it  was  placed  into 
a  refrigerator  on  board  a  vessel.  The  French 
officials  could  not  believe  this  milk  had  not  been 
embalmed  until  it  was  analyzed. 

Separator  the  Best  Cleanser. — I  believe  the 
cleanest  milk  it  is  possible  to  produce  is  im- 
proved by  being  put  through  a  centrifugal  sepa- 
rator. I  do  not  believe  it  possible  to  secure  milk 
that  will  not  leave  a  deposit  on  the  wall  of  the 
se|)arator  after  it  has  been  run  through  it.  The 
claim  that  the  separator  breaks  the  fat  globules 
in  the  milk  I  believe  is  an  argument  in  favor  of 
the  use  of  the  separator,  as  the  smaller  the 
globules  of  fat,  the  easier  it  will  be  digested  by 
the  babe. 

Sterilizing  Utensils. — All  utensils  used  about 
the  milk  must  be  thoroughly  washed  and  rinsed 
and  then  sterilized.  I  found  in  my  experience 
that  a  concrete  sterilizing  room  is  best,  as  con- 
crete is  not  affected  by  heat  as  much  as  wood  or 
metal.  My  sterilizing  room  was  large  enough  to 
contain  all  the  utensils  including  the  cans,  pails, 
cooler,  bottler  and  bottles.  This  room  was  be- 
tween the  wash  room  and  the  bottling  room,  so 


MAKING    CERTIFIED    MILK.  IQ^ 

that  we  filled  it  as  the  washing  was  done.  AYlien 
ready  live  steam  was  turned  into  the  room  until 
it  reached  a  temperature  of  212  deg.  which  was 
maintained  for  thirty  minutes  and  the  room  was 
kept  closed  until  time  to  use  the  utensils  at  milk- 
ing time,  when  the  cans  and  pails  were  taken 
out  through  the  wash  room  and  everything  used 
in  the  bottling  room  was  taken  directly  from 
the  sterilizing  room  into  the  bottling  room. 

Bottling  the  Milk. — Xo  person  should  be  al- 
lowed in  the  bottling  room  while  the  milk  is 
being  bottled  except  the  workmen  in  that  de- 
partment. The  milk  should  be  emptied  from 
the  cans  in  a  room  built  tor  that  purpose  and 
allowed  to  flow  through  a  conductor  into  the 
bottling  room. 

Financial  Side  of  Certified  Milk.— I  had  in- 
vested $70,000  in  the  farm,  the  cows  and  heifers 
that  were  being  grown  on  the  farm,  the  horses, 
the  farm  machinery  and  utensils  used  in  the 
milk  business.  The  business  was  paying  all  op- 
erating expenses  including  labor,  supplies,  re- 
pairs, transportation  on  the  milk  to  Chicago, 
commission  to  my  agents  who  delivered  the 
milk,  taxes  on  the  fami  and  stock,  5  per  cent 
interest  on  the  total  investment,  and  left  me  for 
my  services  superintending  the  business  $3,500 
a  year.  I  spent  my  titne  partly  at  the  farm  look- 
ing after  the  producing  end  of  the  business,  and 
partly  in  Chicago  looking  after  the  consumers^ 


164  THE  FARM  DAIRY. 

end.  I  learned  that  the  consumers'  end  needed 
attention  as  there  at  times  arose  conditions  that 
no  one  except  the  producer  of  the  milk  could  ex- 
plain to  the  satisfaction  of  the  customers. 

Demand  for  Pure  Milk. — The  consumers  of 
milk  are  being  educated  rapidly  as  to  the  im- 
portance of  clean  milk,  and  are  nearing  the  time 
when  they  will  demand  that  their  milk  shall  be 
as  clean  as  their  other  food.  Many  times  I  have 
had  visitor's  at  my  farm  who  said  they  could  not 
drink  milk,  but  when  induced  to  taste  the  pure 
milk  they  would  drink  two  or  more  glasses  be- 
fore leaving  the  farm. 

Never  before  was  there  so  much  interest  and 
development  in  the  milk  field  as  in  1908. 


3957 


ACME 

100  CAf/,BR!DQE  STREET 
CHARLESTOWN.MASS 


